
TRArei 





Glass v;/'^&c : 

Copight'N?- 



COFVRIGHT DEPOSnV 



Wolf and Coyote 
Trapping 



An Up-ro=Date Wolf Hunter's Guide, Giving the 

Most Successful Methods of £«xperienced 

"Wolfers" for Hunting and Trapping 

These Animals, Also Gives 

Their Habits in Detail. 



BY 
A. R. HARDING 



Published by 

A. R. HARDING PUB. CO, 

COLUMBUS, OHIO 



./T*'^/ 
^^\,$^ 
,\\^^ 



Copyright 1909 
By A. R. HARDING PWB. CO. 



24^8^8 9 



TABLE 0F:C0NTENTS. 

Chapter 

I. The Timber Wolf 15 

II. The Coyote -5 

III. Killing of Stock and Game by Wolves 36 

IV. Bowities • "^^ 

V. Hunting Young Wolves and Coyotes 05 

VI. Hunting Wolves with Dogs "iQ 

VII. Still Hunting Wolves and Coyotes 86 

VIII. Poisoning Wolves ^^ 

IX. Trapping Wolves 109 

X. Scents and Baits , 124 

XI. Scent Methods 133 

XII. Bait Methods for Wolves 142 

XIII. Southern Bait Methods for Coyotes 158 

XIV. Northern Bait Methods for Coyotes 169 

XV. Blind Set Methods 189 

XVI. Snow Set Methods 196 

XVII. Some Rules and Things to Remember 209 

XVIII. The Treacherous Grey Wolf 215 

XIX. Wolf Catching 223 

XX. With the Coyotes ; 231 

XXI. Wolf Trapping an Art 244 

5 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS- 

PAGE 

Map Showing the Range of the Timber Wolf 17 

Western Grey Wolf in a Trap 20 

Track of the Grey Wolf 23 

Coyote and Badger Killed in Texas 28 

A Trapped Coyote 32 

Track of the Coyote 34 

Wolves Killing a Deer 37 

Remains of Deer Killed by Wolves 47 

Grey Wolf ^2 

Diagrams showing Difference in Size of Wolves and 

Coyotes ^^ 

A Wyoming Wolf Den 66 

A Near View of the Den 67 

Young Wolves at Entrance of Den 71 

The Hunter's Outfit 73 

An Oklahoma Hunter with Young Coyotes 74 

Catch of a Canadian Hunter 80 

A Still Hunter and His Outfit 88 

Killed by the Still Hunt 92 

Method of Preparing Poison Baits 104 

The Newhouse Wolf Trap HO 

7 



8 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

The Two-Pronged Drag Ill 

Method of Attaching an Oblong Stone 112 

Method of Attaching a Triangular Stone 113 

Iron Stakes for Traps 114 

Trap Set and Ready for Covering 117 

Wyoming Wolf Trapper 120 

Caught in a Scent Set 136 

Trail Bait Set 143 

The Square Setting 145 

Coyote Caught at a Bank Set 147 

Wolf Water Set 150 

A Trapped Wolf 154 

A Trapped Texas Coyote 159 

A Northern Coyote 172 

An Idaho Coyote 177 

A Trail Set 185 

Traps Set at Badger Den 187 

A Good Catch 191 

A Snow Set 197 

A Large Wisconsin Wolf 203 

Mr. Davis with the Big Wolf Skins 217 

A Texas Specimen 224 

Caught at Last 238 

A Northern Wolf 247 




Cf^ ^ ^^:M.^^^Q, 



INTRODUCTION. 



There are certain wild animals 
which when hard pressed by severe cold 
and hunger, will raid the farmers and 
ranchmen's yards, killing fowls and 
stock. There however, are no animals 
that destroy so much stock as wolves 
and coyotes as they largely live upon 
the property of farmers, settlers and 
ranchmen to which they add game as 
they can get it. 

While these animals are trapped, 
shot, poisoned, hunted Avitli dogs, etc., 
their numbers, in some states, seem to 
be on the increase rather than the de- 
crease in face of the fact that heavy 
bounties are offered. 

The fact that wolf and coyote 
scalps command a bounty, in many 
states, and in addition their pelts are 
valuable, makes the hunting and trap- 
ping of these animals of no little im- 
portance. 

One thing that has helped to keep 
the members of these "howlers" so nu- 
ll 



12 INTRODUCTION. 

merous is the fact that they are among 
the shrewdest animal in America. The 
day of their extermination is, no doubt, 
far in the distance. 

This book contains much of value 
to those who expect to folloAv the busi- 
ness of catching wolves and coyotes. 
A great deal of the habits and many of 
the methods were written by Mr. E. 
Kreps, who has had experience with 
these animals upon the Western Plains, 
in Canada, and the South. Additional 
information has been secured from Gov- 
ernment Bulletins and experienced 
"wolfers" from various parts of Amer- 
ica. 

A. E. Harding. 



WOLF AND COYOTE 
TRAPPING 




WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING 



CHAPTER I. 

THE TIMBER WOLF. 

OLVES of all species belong to that 
class of animals known as the dog 
family, the members of which are 
considered to be the most intelli- 
gent of brute animals. They are 
found, in one species or another, in 
almost every part of the world. 
They are strictly carnivorous and are beyond all 
doubt the most destructive of all wild animals. 
In general appearance the w^olf resembles a 
large dog having erect ears, elongated muzzle, 
long heavy fur and bushy tail. The size and 
color varies considerably as there are many 
varieties. 

The wolves of North America may be divided 
into two distinct groups, namely, the large 
timber wolves, and the prairie wolves or coyotes 
(ki'-yote). Of the timjber wolves there are a 
number of varieties, perhaps species, for there is 
considerable difference in size and color. For 
instance there is the small black wolf which is 
still found in Florida, and the large Arctic wolf 
which is found in far Northern Canada and 
Alaska, the color of which is a pure white with a 

15 



16 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

black tip to the tail. Then there is that inter- 
mediate variet}^ known as the Grey Wolf, also 
called ''Timber Wolf/' ''Lobo'' and ''Wolf," the 
latter indefinite name being used throughout 
the West to distinguish the animal from the 
prairie species. It is the most common of the 
American wolves, the numbers of this variety 
being in excess of all of the others combined. 
In addition to those mentioned, there are others 
such as the Ked Wolf of Texas and the Brindled 
Wolf of Mexico. All of these, however, belong 
to the group known to naturalists as the Timber 
Wolves. Just how many species and how many 
distinct varieties there are is not known. 

As a rule, the largest wolves are found in 
the North; the Gray Wolves of the western 
plains being slightly smaller than the white and 
Dusky Wolves of Northern Canada and Alaska, 
specimens of which, it is said, sometimes weigh 
as much as one hundred and fifty pounds. Again 
the wolves of the southern part of the United 
States and of Mexico are smaller than the gray 
variety. 

The average full grown wolf will measure 
about five feet in length, from the end of the 
nose to the tip of the tail, and will weigh from 
eighty to one hundred pounds, but specimens 
have been killed which far exceeded these fig- 
ures. The prevailing color is gray, being darkest 



18 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

on the back and dusky on the shoulders and 
hips. The tail is very bushy and the fur of the 
body is long and shaggj^ The ears are erect and 
pointed, the muzzle long and heav}^, the eje^ 
brown and considering the fierce, bloodthirsty 
nature of the animal, have a very gentle expres- 
sion. 

In early days wolves were found in all parts 
of the country but they have been exterminated 
or driven out of the thickly settled portions and 
their present distribution in the United States 
is shown by the accompan^dng map. As will 
be noted they are found in only a small portion 
of Nevada and none are found in California, but 
they are to be met with in all- other states west 
of the Missouri and the lower Mississippi, also 
all of the most southern tier of states, as well 
as those parts bordering on Lake Superior. A 
few are yet found in the Smokey Mountains of 
North Carolina and Tennessee. They are prob- 
ably most abundant in Northern Michigan and 
Northern Minnesota, Western Wyoming, 
Montana and New Mexico. 

Wyoming is the center of the wolf infested 
country and they are found in greatest numbers 
in that state, on the headwaters of the Green 
Kiver. As to the numbers still found the report 
of tlie Biological Sur\^ey for the years 1895 to 
1906, inclusive, but not including the year 1898, 



THE TIMBER WOLF. 19 

shows that bounties were paid on 20,819 wolves 
in that state. 

In Northern Michigan they are also abundant. 
In the year 1907, thirty-four wolves were killed in 
Ontonagon County; in Luce County fifty-four 
were killed up to November 10th, '07, and in 
Schoolcraft Co., thirty were killed from October 
1st, '07 to April 29th, '08. This gives a total of 
one hundred and eighteen wolves killed in three 
out of the sixteen counties of the Upper Pen- 
insula. These statistics are from a pamphlet is- 
sued by the Department of Agriculture. 

The breeding season of the timber wolves is 
not as definite as that of many of the furbearing 
animals, for the young make their appearance 
from early in ]March until in May, and an occa- 
sional litter will be born during the summer, 
even as late as August. The mating season of 
course varies, but is mainly in January and Feb- 
ruary, the period of gestation being nine weeks. 
The number in a litter varies from five to thir- 
teen, the usual number being eight or ten. 

In early days the wolves of the western plains 
followed the great buffalo herds and preyed on 
the young animals, also the old and feeble. After 
the extermination of that animal they turned 
their attention to the herds of cattle which soon 
covered the great western range and their dep- 
redations have become a positive nuisance. 



20 



WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 



In the Northern States and throughout Canada 
they subsist almost entirely on wild game. 

Wolves den in the ground or rocks in natural 
dens if such can be found, but in case natural 
excavations are rare as in northern portions of 




Western Grey Wolf in a Trap 



the country, they appropriate and enlarge the 
homes of other animals. In the heavily timbered 
country they sometimes den in hollow logs. 

The wolf is both cowardly and courageous, 
depending on circumstances. When found 
singly, and especially in daylight the animal is 



THE TIMBER WOLF. 21 

as much of a coward as any creature could pos- 
sibly be, and especially does it fear man. But 
when suffering- from the pangs of hunger and 
when traveling in bands as they usually do, they 
are bold, fierce and bloodthirsty creatures. In 
such cases they have been known to attack man. 

When hunting large game, wolves always go 
in bands, usually of three to five but often a 
larger number. They invariably kill animals by 
springing on from behind and hamstringing the 
victim. Small game is hunted by lone animals. 

The great losses suffered by stockmen in the 
West led the Biological Survey, in connection 
with the Forest Service of the Department of 
Agriculture, to make a special investigation, 
and later a general campaign against the wolves 
of the National Forests began. During the year 
1907 a large number of wolves and coyotes were 
captured in and near the forest reserves: the 
number from the various states being as follows : 

STATE. WOLVES COYOTES. 

Wyoming 1,U09 1,983 

Montana 261 2.629 

Idaho 14 3,881 

Washington 10 675 

Colorado 65 2,362 

Oklahoma 3 15 

New Mexico 232 544 

Arizona 127 1,424 

Utah 5,001 



22 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

STATE. WOLVES. COYOTES . 

Nevada - 500 

California 224 

Oregon 2 3,290 



Total 1,723 22,528 

Many of these aHimals were captured by the 
forest guards but in addition the government 
employed a number of expert trappers. 

On the Gila National Forest 36 wolves and 
30 coyotes were killed by one forest guard, who 
sent the skulls to the Biological Survey for 
identification, as well as the skulls of 9 bears, 
7 mountain lions, 17 bobcats, and 46 grey foxes. 
One den of 8 very young wolf pups was taken 
March 13. These statistics are from Circular 
63, issued by the U. S. Department of Agricul- 
ture. 

Wolves are great ramblers, traveling over a 
large section of country. Like almost all other 
animals of rambling habits, they have their reg- 
ular routes of travel. By this, we mean they fol- 
low the same valleys, passes, water courses, etc., 
but when in pursuit of game they sometimes 
stray quite a long distance out of their course. 

The track of the wolf resembles that of a 
dog, but is a trifle narrower in proportion to 
its length. The difference is in the two middle 
toes, which are somewhat longer on the wolf, 




23 



24 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

however, the difference is so slight that it could 
easily pass unnoticed. When the wolf is running 
these toes are spread well apart. The length of 
step when the animal is walking will be from 
18 to 24 inches, and the average footprint will 
measure about 2| or 3 inches in width by about 
3J or 4 inches in length. Ernest Thompson 
Seton, the naturalist claims that he can judge 
with fair accuracy, the weight of a Avolf by the 
size of the track. He allows twenty pounds for 
each inch in length, of the foot print. 




• CHAPTER 2. 

THE COYOTE. 

N the western parts of the United 
States, the coyote is far more abund- 
ant than the grey, or timber wolf, 
but its range is more limited as it is 
found only in those parts lying west 
of the Mississippi Eiver and in the western por- 
tion of the Dominion of Canada. As there are 
a number of varieties of the timber wolf, so it is 
with the coyote, but naturalists have never yet 
been able to agree on the number of types and 
their distribution. In the Southwest, it appears 
there are several distinct varieties, showing con- 
siderable difference in size and color. Mr. 
Vasma Brown, a noted coj^ote trapper of Texas 
has the following to say on the subject : 

"I have lived in Texas nineteen years and 
have had some years of experience with the coy- 
otes, coons and cats. Some coyotes are of a 
silver-grey color, others are dark brown. The 
ends of their hair are jet black and it makes 
them look brown. Some have black tips on the 
tail and some white. The dark variety are the 
most vicious of the two.'' 

25 



26 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPINQ. 

With the exception of the southwestern sec- 
tion, it is probable that the coyotes of all por- 
tions of the Great Plains and the country to 
the westward are of the same variety, and a 
description of this, the most common type will 
answer for the species. In size, the co^^ote or 
prairie wolf is considerably smaller than the 
timber wolf, the largest specimens of the former 
being about equal in size to the smallest adult 
wolves. The average coyote will measure about ^f 
thirty-six or thirty-eight inches from the end of 
the nose to the base of the tail, which is about 
sixteen inches additional length. The fur is of 
about the same texture as that of the grey fox 
and the general color is fulvous, black and white 
hairs being mingled in parts, giving a grizzled 
apj)earance. The ears are larger, comparatively 
than those of the grey wolf, and the muzzle is 
more pointed. 'All through the animal appears 
to be of more delicate build. A larger form 
of the coyote is found in Minnesota and the 
adjoining territory and is commonly known as 
the '^brush wolf". Whether this is a distinct 
variety is not known. 

Coyotes are intelligent and cunning animals 
and their habits and general appearance suggest 
the fox rather than the wolf. While they are 
greedy, bloodthirsty creatures, they are sneak- 
ing and cowardly and never kill animals larger 



THE COYOTE. 27 

than deer, in fact they rarely attack such large 
game. An Arizona trapper writes : 

^'The coyote bears the same relation to the 
wolf family that the Apache Indian does to the 
human race. It is a belief among some of the 
Apaches that they turn into coyotes when they 
depart this life, and nothing will induce one of 
them to kill a coyote. Like the Indian he is 
sneaky and treacherous, and full of the devil." 

While there is no doubt tlmt the animal en- 
joys its wild, free life, it ahvays has a miserable, 
distressed expression. It carries its tail in a 
drooping manner and slinks out of sight like a 
dog that has been doing wrong and has a 
troubled conscience. 

The high piercing cry of the animal, which 
is so different from the deep bass note of the 
timber wolf, is mournful in the extreme. In 
the morning before the coyotes retire for the 
day, they stop on the top of some elevation and 
sound their ^'reveille", which once heard will 
never be forgotten. It is a shrill, piercing note, 
combining a howl with a bark and although in all 
probability there will be only a pair of the ani- 
mals, one who does not know would be inclined 
to think that the number is larger, the notes are 
so commingled. 

Coyotes live in natural dens in the rocks, also 
in dens of badgers, in the prairie country. In 




'a 
pq 

G 

03 



O 

o 
U 



THE COYOTE. 29 

the ''Bad Lands'' of the West and the foot hills 
of the mountain ranges, wind worn holes in the 
rim-rock and buttes are quite common and the 
animals have no trouble in securing a good den. 
Katurally, they select the most secluded and in- 
accessible places for their dens. The food of the 
coyote consists of small game, such as hares 
and grouse, prairie dogs and any other small 
animals that they can capture. In the sheep 
raising districts of the Western States they are 
Yerj destructive to sheep and in those parts it 
is probable that their food consists mostly of 
mutton. They feed on carrion and have a par- 
ticular liking for horse flesh. They also kill bad- 
gers and when conditions are very favorable 
ma}' kill an occasional deer or antelope. They 
also sometimes kill calves and hogs. 

Speaking of conditions in Oregon and other 
parts of the Northwest, one of our friends 
writes : 

"The prairie \\olf or coyote in the Western 
states are becoming so numerous that it looks 
as though the sheep industry in Idaho and East- 
ern Oregon would soon be a thing of the past, 
if something it not done to lesson the number of 
the destructive coyotes. 

"Twenty years ago there were a great many 
coyotes in Oregon, but the black tail rabbits w^ere 
so numerous then that the coyote contented him- 



30 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

self with them and did not molest the sheep to 
any great extent. Idaho and Oregon both put 
a bounty on rabbits, which soon caused them to 
become scarcf, then the coyotes began their 
depredations among the sheep. The wool grow- 
ers supplied themselves with plenty of strycli- 
nine and kept the coyote reduced to quite an ex- 
tent. Of late years it seems that poison will not 
kill a coyote. As soon as he feels the effect of 
the poison he throws up the bait he has just 
eaten, and in a few minutes he is all right. 

The only way to kill coyotes these days is 
with the gun, the trap or with dogs. They are 
so thick here now that hounds would not be 
much good, as the coyotes would change at any 
time and run them down. I don't think there 
was a band of sheep anylvhere in this country but 
what suffered more or less from coyotes last 
winter. I trapped some last winter for the Munz 
Brothers, and I saw where 48 sheep had been 
killed at one camp. They had been camped there 
about ten days. This is about an average killing 
if the weather is stormy. 

"In Southeastern Oregon there is a desert 
about one hundred miles square, and thirty or 
forty bands of sheep feed there every winter. 
They run from two to three thousand sheep in a 
band. The sheep men on this desert last winter, 
19r04-'05, paid |40.00 per month and board for 



THE COYOTE. 31 

trappers to trap coyotes, and the trappers were 
allowed to keep the furs they caught. Some of 
them made very large wages.'' 
; It is said that when hunting rabbits, two coy- 
: otes will join forces and in this way one animal 
1 will drive the game to within reach of the 
i other, thus avoiding the fatigue caused by run- 
ning clown game. Naturalists also claim that 
the adult animals will sometimes drive the game 
close to the den, so that the young coyotes may 
have the opportunity of killing it. They fre- 
quently pick up scraps about the camps, and if 
^ undisturbed, will in a short time, lose much of 
their ^timidity. . Old camping places are always 
inspected in the hopes of finding some morsel 
of food, and one can always find coyote tracks 
in the ashes of the campfire. 

Though the coyote belongs to the flesh-eat- 
ing class of animals, it is not strictly carnivor- 
ous. In late summer when the wild rose tips 
are red and sweet and berries are plentiful, its 
flesh eating propensities forsake it in part and 
it adds fruit to its '^bill of fare". Whether this 
is caused by hunger or a change of appetite, or 
whether the fruit acts as a tonic and the animal, 
instinctively, realizes that it must tone up its 
system in preparation for the long winter, is not 
known. 

Covotes have a more regular breeding season 



32 



WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 



than the timber wolves, for practically all of the 
young make their appearance in the months of 
April and May. The number of young varies 
from five to twelve. The young animals are of a 
yellowish grey color with brown ears and black 
tail, muzzle tawny or yellowish brown. As they 




A Trapped Coyote. 

become older they take on a lighter shade and 
the tail changes to greyish with a black tip. 
Both wolves and coyotes pair for the breed- 
ing season and the males stay with the females 
during the summer and help take care of the 
young. It is probable that they do not breed 
until two years of age. As soon as the young 
are strong enough, and their e^-es are open they 



THE COYOTE. 33 

commence to play about the mouth of the den 
and later on the motlier leads them to the 
nearest water and finally allows them to ac- 
company her on hunting excursions. In late 
summer they start out to shift for themselyes. 

As before mentioned, the coyote is a wary 
and cunning animal, especially in the more set- 
tled portions of its range; where man is not too 
much in eyidence, they are far less wary. Again 
the fact that there are seyeral yarieties may ac- 
count for the difference in the nature of the ani- 
mals of the yarious sections, anyway those of 
the southern part of the range are less wary 
than those of tlie North. The trappers of Texas, 
Arizona and New ^Mexico claim that the coyote 
is a fool and is easily caught while those of the 
North and Northwest find them exceedingly 
cunning and intelligent. Not only does the ani- 
mal appear to know when you are armed but it 
also seems to know something of the range of the 
weapon and will sneak along proyokingly close, 
but just out of reach. When one is unarmed 
they appear to be more bold and will loaf around 
in the most unconcerned manner imaginable. 

In intelligence and cunning, we, consider the 
northern coyote the equal of the eastern red 
fox. While the. western trappers make yery 
large catches of coyotes, we belieye that if foxes 
were found in equal numbers the catches of those 




34 



THE COYOTE. 35 

animals would be fully as large. The number of 
coyotes found in some parts of the West is al- 
most incredible, and in most parts one will find 
a hundred coyotes to one grey wolf. 

The coyote makes a track similar to that of 
the timber wolf, but considerably smaller. The 
length of step, when walking, is about sixteen 
inches and the footprints Avill measure about 
two or two and a fourth inches in length by 
one and a half in width. 




CHAPTER III. 

KILLING OF STOCK AND GAME BY WOLVES. 

NDOUBTEDLY the wolves and 
coyotes of the United States and 
Canada destro3^ more stock and 
game than all other predatory an- 
imals combined. In the Western 
part of our country where stock 
raising is one of the principal in- 
dustries, the ranchmen suffer great losses from 
the depredation of these animals, and in other 
sections jthe Avolves destroy large quantities of 
game. The reason that wolves are more destruc- 
tive than others of the carnivora is that when 
they have the opportunity, they kill far more 
than they can consume for food. Often they 
only tear a mouthful of flesh from the body of 
their victim; sometimes they do not even kill 
the animal but leave it to suffer a slow and pain- 
ful death. The animals that are only slightly 
bitten are sure to die from blood poisoning, ac- 
cording to the western ranchmen. 

The wolf-s method of attack is from the rear, 
springing on its victim and hamstringing it and 
literally eating it alive. The bite of the wolf is 
a succession of quick, savage snaps and there is 

36 



I 



^.iL& 










sv 



38 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

no salvation for the creature that has no means 
of defense from a rear attack. This peculiar 
method of killing prey can not be practiced suc- 
cessfully on horses, owing to the fact that they 
can defend themselves by kicking, but for all of 
that, a considerable number of colts and a few 
full grown horses are killed. For this reason 
cattle suffer more than horses, but while the 
horse is, to a certain extent, exempt from attack 
by wolves, tliey are frequently killed by moun- 
tain lions, because their method of attack, a 
spring at the head and throat is more successful 
with these animals than with cattle. As food, 
however, horse flesh is preferred to beef by 
both of these animals. 

One of tlie western trappers w^rites : 
^^Many times in the past thirty years I have 
watched wolves catch cows. The wolf is by na- 
ture a coAvard and will not, singly, attack a 
grown cow, though he will by himself kill a pig, 
chicken, calf, goat or sheep. 

"On the ranges, where the stockmen and set- 
tlements are far apart, wolves go in bunches, 
from three to ten or even more, and w^hen very 
hungry a bunch of them will attack a grown 
bull. They frighten him by snapping and play- 
ing around him till they get him on the run, 
when the bunch give full chase and stay close 



KILLING OF STOCK AND GAME. 39 

at his heels. While he is running in this way, 
one or more of them Avill grab him by the ham 
strings just above the hock joint. The bull 
makes, of course, a vigorous effort to free him- 
self from the wolf, but before he can do so, the 
sharp teeth of the latter have cut or partially 
cut the ham string. They keep him on the run 
till they final Ij^ cut him down in both ham 
strings and then he cannot go further or fight the 
hungry wolves off. 

^'Ttl? whole bunch then eat his hams out while 
the bull is still alive, and after they get their full 
they let him rest. When they want to fill up 
again, they return and eat him till he dies, fin- 
ishing the carcass as they require fbod. 

^^I have seen horses and cattle killed by wolves 
in this way live for several days with their hams 
eaten out, and have never seen the wolf make his 
attack or give chase in any other way. Being 
cowardly, he always follows behind and keeps 
out of all danger from the bull's hoofs." 

Of cattle, ^calves and yearlings are generally 
selected, partly because the flesh of the younger 
animals is more to the wolf's liking and partly 
bcause they cannot defend themselves as readily 
as full grown animals, but full grown steers are 
also killed at times. Far more cattle are killed 
than are eaten. The wolf prefers fresh food 



40 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

always and in summer when their resources are 
unlimited they seldom return to the carcass for 
a second meal. 

In ^'Bulletin 72/' issued by the United States 
Department of Agriculture, the author, ]Mr. 
Vernon Bailey, has the following to say on the 
subject: 

''The actual number of cattle killed by wolves 
can not be determined. Comparatively few an- 
imjals are found by cattlemen and hunters, when 
freshly killed, with wolf tracks around them and 
with wolf marks on them. Not all of the adult 
cattle, missing from a herd can surely be charged 
the depredations of wolves, while missing calves 
may have been taken b}^ wolves, by mountain 
lions, or by 'rustlers.' " 

Nevelrtilieless there are data enough from 
which to draw fairly reliable conclusions. In the 
Green River Basin, Wyoming, on April 2, 1906, 
Mr. Charles Budd had 8 yearling calves and 4 
colts killed in his pasture by wolves within six 
weeks. At Big Piney a number of cattle and 
a few horses had been killed around the settle- 
ment during the previous fall and winter. At 
Pinedale, members of the local stockmen's as- 
sociation counted 30 head of cattle killed in the 
valley around Cora and Pinedale in 1905, be- 
tween April, when the cattle were turned out on 
the range, and June 30, when they were driven 



KILLING OF STOCIv AND GAME. 41 

to the mountains. In 1906, wolves were said to 
have come into the pastures near Cora and Pine- 
dale and begun killing cattle in January on 
the '^feed grounds,'' and Mr. George Glover 
counted up 22 head of cattle killed by them up 
to April 10. Just north of Cora, Mr. Alexander, 
a well known ranchman, told me that the wolves 
killed near his place in June, 1901, a large three 
vear old steer, a cow, 3 yearlings and a horse. 
On the G O S Ranch, in the Gila Forest Re- 
serve in New Mexico, May 11 to 30, 1906, the 
cowbovs on the round-up reported finding calves 
or yearlings killed by wolves almost daily, and 
Mt Victor Culberson, president of the company, 
estimated the loss by wolves on the ranch at 10 
per cent, of the cattle. 

In a letter to the Biological Survey, under 
date of April 3, 1896, Mr. R. M. Allen, general 
manaoer of the Standard Cattle Company, with 
headquarters at Ames, Neb., and ranches m both 
Wyomino- and Montana, states that m 1894 his 
companv paid a |5.00 bounty at their Wyoming 
ranch on almost exactly 500 wolves. The total 
loss to Wvoming through the depredations of 
wolves Mr. Allen estimated at a mniion dollars 

a vear. 

" In an address before the National Live Stock 
Association at Denver, Col., January 25, 1899, 
Mr A. J. Bothwell said: "In central T^ yoming 



42 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

my experience has been that these wolves kill 
from 10 to 20 per cent, of the annual increase 
of. the herds." 

Lieut. E. L. Munson, of Chouteau County, 
Mont., writing in Recreation^ says : ''It is said 
that in this country the loss from wolves and 
coyotes is about 15 per cent. * * * Wolves in 
this vicinity seldom kill sheep, as the latter are 
too carefully herded. They get a good many 
young colts, but prey especially on young cattle.'^ 
Mr. J. B. Jennett, of Stanford, Montana, 
says in Beer eat ion : ''A family of wolves will 
destroy about |3,000 worth of stock per annum." 
The loss caused by wolves and coyotes in 
Big Horn County, Wyo., is estimated at three 
hundred thousand dollars per year. It has been 
variously estimated that each grey wolf costs 
the stockmen from tAvo hundred and fifty to one 
thousand dollars annually. 

Sheep, for some reason, are seldom troubled 
by timber wolves in the West, but suffer con- 
siderably from the attacks of coyotes; in fact, 
the loss occasioned the sheep m,en of Wyoming 
and Montana in this way is enormous. In sum- 
mer when the sheep are driven up into the 
mountains, the coyotes migrate to those sections 
and kill sheep whenever the opportunity is pre- 
sented. In tlie fall when the sheep are brought 
down into the foothills, the coyotes are also to 



KILLING OF STOCK AND GAME. 43 

be found in great numbers in those parts. In 
all probability there is a greater loss occasioned 
by the depredations of coyotes in the two states 
mentioned than is caused by wolves and moun- 
tain lions combined. Farther south, however, 
it is the wolf that does the most mischief. Where 
timber wolves are plentiful and very little stock 
is raised, as in the northern parts of Michigan, 
Wisconsin and Minnesota, sheep are not safe 
from the attacks of wolves, and for that reason 
few sheep are raised in those parts. It is prob- 
abl3^ the fact that the western range is very open 
and the slieep always carefully guarded by herd- 
ers that they suffer so little from timber wolves 
in the Western States. 

In the swamps of the Southern States, and 
especially in tlie lowlands of Texas, Louisiana 
and Arkansas, hogs are sometimes killed by 
wolves. In New ^Mexico, Texa*s, Colorado and 
Mexico where large numbers of goats are raised, 
these aninmls are frequently killed. 

That an immense amount of game is killed 
in the wilder and less thickly settled portions 
of the United States and Canada goes without 
saying. In the West the Avild game does not 
suffer as much as does the domestic animals, but 
in the heavily timbered portions of the country 
where little stock is raised as in the states 
bordering on Lake Superior and in the greater 



44 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

part of Canada large numbers of deer and other 
game animals fall victims to these fierce crea- 
tures. Regarding the killing of game on the 
western cattle range, Mr. Bailey has the follow- 
ing to say: 

"At Big Piney, Wyoming, I examined wolf 
dung in probably fifty places around dens and 
along wolf trails. In about nine-tenths of the 
cases it Avas comi30sed mainly or entirely of cat- 
tle or horse hair; in all other cases but one, of 
rabbit fur and bones, and in this one case mainly 
of antelope hair. A herd of 20 or 30 antelope 
wintered about 5 or 6 miles from this den, and 
the old wolves frequently visited the herd, but 
I could find no other evidence that they de- 
stroyed antelope, though I followed wolf tracks 
for many miles among the antelope tracks on 
the snow. Jack rabbits were killed and eaten 
along the trails or brought to the den and 
eaten near it almost every night, and a half 
eaten cottontail was found in the den with the 
little pups. While wolves are usually found 
around antelope herds, they are probably able 
to kill only the sick, crippled and young. The 
following note from Wyoming appeared in the 
Pinedale Roundup of July 4, 1906: 

While riding on the outside circle with the 
late round-up, Nelse Jorgensen chanced to see a 
wolf making away with a fawn antelope. He 



KILLING OF STOCK AND GAME 45 

gave chase to the animal, but it succeeded in 
setting away, never letting loose on its catch. 
About a den near Cora, the numerous depos- 
its of wolf dung on the crest of the ridge not 
far awav were found to be composed of horse and 
cattle hair, though fresh elk tracks were abun- 
dant over the side hills on all sides of the den, 
while cattle and horses were then to be found 
only in the valley, 8 miles distant. Several 
jack rabbits had been brought in and eaten 
ind the old wolf on her way to the den had 
laid down her load, evidently a jack rabbit, gone 
aside some 20 feet and caught a ruffed grouse 
eaten it on the spot, and then resumed her load 
and her journev to the waiting pups. One small 
carpal bone in this den may have been from a 
deer or small elk, but no other trace of game 

was found. , „ , 

Talking with hunters and trappers who spend 
much time in the mountains when the snow is on 
the ground brought little positive information 
on tiie destruction of elk or deer by wolves 
Mr George Glover, a forest ranger long familiar 
with the Wind River Mountains in both winter 
and summer, said that he had foivnd a large 
blacktail buck which the wolves had eaten, but 
he suspected that it had been previously shot 
bv hunters. In many winters of trapping where 
eik were abundant, Mr. Glover has never found 



46 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

any evidence that elk had been killed by wolves. 
Coyotes constantly follow the elk herds, espe- 
cially in spring when the calves are being born, 
and probably destroy many of the young, but 
wolves apparently do not share this habit. It 
seems probably, however, that in summer the 
young of both elk and deer suffer to some extent 
while the wolves are among them in the moun- 
tains.'' 

In the Northern Peninsula of Michigan, 
wolves are very plentiful and large numbers of 
deer are killed during the winter months, the 
remains being found later by hunters, trappers, 
and lumbermen. The same conditions exist in 
Northern IM'innesota and Wisconsin, also in] 
parts of Ontario, Canada. In the Rainy River 
District, wolves have always been abundant and 
much game has been killed by them. Farther 
east, they are just making their appearance of 
late* years having followed the deer which are 
coming into the country from some other sec- 
tion. Farther east, in the eastern portions of 
New Ontario and in some parts of Quebec wolves 
are also numerous. One of our friends from 
Northern Wisconsin writes as follows : 

"I have trapped and caught five old female 
wolves since I came to Iron County, Wisconsin, 
six years ago. Two of them I got in Michigan, 
Gogebic County, as I live almost on the line. 



KILLING OF STOCK AND GAME. 



47 



There are times wlien jou can see six or eight 
wolf tracks all going down the river or coming 
up at the same time. You can go again for a 
week and never see a track. I have followed 
them for a week, in deep snow on snow shoes, 
and never left their track, and in one w(^ek I set 




Remains of Deer Killed by Wolves. 



traps at 50 different deer that wolves had killed. 
I might have gotten a few more wolves but the 
fox, mink, cats, skunk, owls and ^'porkys" (por- 
cupines) were bound to butt in. At one set I 
got a wolf, 3 foxes, 1 skunk, 1 mink and 10 
porky s till June. 

Two wolves caught a buck that would weigh 
150 pounds, within 10 rods of my camp one 



48 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

night. The next morning there was not one 
pound of meat left on the bones. 

I had a tent and one shanty in Gogebic 
County last winter, and I know the 
wolves killed 500 deer on the snow. How many 
fawns and does did they kill in summer time 
wh^n you cannot see their tracks? The wild cats 
are not so bad, a fawn, rabbit or partridge makes 
a meal for them." 

In the far north Avhere the barren ground 
caribou is the principal game animal, and where 
wolves are plentiful, there can be no doubt that 
they kill large numbers of tliose animals. Musk 
oxen are also killed, and farther south the moose 
is killed by wolves, but it is our belief that the 
number is comparatively small. The moose is/ 
such a large and powerful animal that even a 
band of half starved wolves Avill, as a rule, pass 
it by, but there can be no doubt of the fact that 
they do kill them on rare occasions. 

The elk is a great enemy of the wolf and it 
appears that they are seldom molested. Beyond 
all doubt the deer is the principal prey of the 
timber wolf 




CHAPTER IV. 

BOUNTIES. 

OR many years the state govern- 
ments of the wolf infested coun- 
try have been paying bounties on 
wolves and coyotes, to encourage 
the hunting and trapping of these 
animals. It is doubtful, however, 
whether the bounties offered are sufiflcient to en- 
courage any, other than the regular trappers, to 
hunt wolves, and if they are, it has certainly 
had no definite results, for the wolves and coy- 
otes, taken over the whole country, are prac- 
tically as plentiful as ever. 

Realizing that the state bounties were not a 
sufiflcient inducement to trappers, certain of the 
counties of those states where wolves are most 
abundant, offer additional bounty. This has the 
effect of thinning the wolves out of that county 
alone, but they immediately become more plen- 
tiful in the adjoining portions of the country. 
In some of the Western States, the stockmen 
pay a bounty, in addition to that offered by the 
state. Some of them even offer special induce- 
ments, in addition to the bounties paid on the 
captured animals, and among them may be men- 
4 49 



50 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

tioned, board and lodging for the trapper, bait 
for the traps and the use of saddle and pack 
horses. 

Such special offers to trappers have the 
effect of stimulating the hunting and trapping 
of noxious animals in that immediate vicinity 
and the result is, a thinning out of the animals 
for the time being. Usually the trappers drift 
into those sections where the animals are most 
plentiful and the bounty is highest. 

One of the Government bulletins has the 
following to say regarding the bounty question : 

^'Bounties, even when excessively high, have 
proved ineffective in keeping down the wolves, 
and the more intelligent ranchmen are question- 
ing whether the bounty system pays. In the past 
ten years Wyoming has paid out in State boun- 
ties over 165,000 on wolves alone, and |160,156 
on wolves, coyotes and mountain lions together, 
and to this must be added still larger sums in 
local and county bounties on the same animals.'' 

^^In many cases three bounties are paid on 
each wolf. In the upper Green River Valley 
the local stockmen's association pays a bounty 
of flO on each wolf pup, |20 on each grown dog 
wolf, and |40 on each bitch with pup. Fremont 
County adds |3 to each of these, and the State 
of Wyoming |3 more. Many of the large ranch- 
ers pay a private bounty of $10 to |20 in addition 



BOUNTIES. 51 

to the county and state bounty. Gov. Bryant B. 
Brooks, of Wyoming, paid six years ago, on his 
ranch in Natrona County, f 10 each on 50 wolves 
in one year, and considered it a good investment, 
since it practically cleared his range of wolves 
for the time. It invariably happens, however, 
that when cleared out of one section the wolves 
are left undisturbed to breed in neighboring 
sections, and the depleted country is soon re- 
stocked.'' 

"A floating class of hunters and trappers re- 
ceive most of the bounty money and drift to the 
sections where the bounty is highest. If ex- 
termination is left to these men, it will be a 
long process. Even some of the small ranch 
owners support themselves in part from the wolf 
harvest, and it is not uncommon to hear men 
boast that they know the location of dens, but 
are leaving the young to grow up for higlier 
bounty. The frauds, which have frequently 
wasted the funds appropriated for the destruc- 
tion of noxious animals almost vitiate the wolf 
records of some of the States: If bounties re- 
sulted in the extermination of the wolves or in 
an important reduction in their number, the 
bounty system should be encouraged, but if it 
merely begets fraud and yields a perpetual har- 
vest for the support of a floating class of citizens, 
other means should be adopted/' 




o 



62 



BOUNTIES. 53 

The failure of bounties to accomplish their 
proposed object was clearly shown by Dr. T. S. 
Palmer in 1896. Under the heading, "What 
have bounties accomplished/' he says: 

"Advocates of the bounty system seem to 
think that almost any species can be extermi- 
nated in a short time if the premiums are only 
high enough. Extermination, however, is not a 
question of months, but of years, and it is a mis- 
take to suppose that it can be accomplished rap- 
idly except under extraordinary circumstances, 
as in the case of the buffalo and the fur seal. 
Theoretically, a bounty should be high enough 
to insure the destruction of at least a majority 
of the individuals during the first season, but it 
has already been shown that scarcely a single 
State has been able to maintain a high rate for 
more than a few months, and it is evident that 
the higher the rate, the greater the danger of 
fraud. Although Virginia has encouraged the 
killing of wolves almost from the first settle- 
ment of the colony, and has sometimes paid as 
high as |25 apiece for their scalps, wolves were 
not exterminated until about the middle of this 
(the past) century, or until the rewards had been 
in force for more than two hundred years. Nor 
did they become extinct in England until the 
beginning of the sixteenth century, although 
efforts toward their extermination had been be- 



54 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

gun in the reign of King Edgar (959-975). 
France, which has maintained bounties on these 
animals for more than a centur^^, found it neces- 
sary to increase the rewards to |30 and |40 in 
1882, and in twelve years expended no less than 
$115,000 for nearly 8,000 wolves.'' 

"The larger animals are gradually becoming 
rare, particularly in the East, but it can not be 
said that bounties have brought about the ex- 
termination of a single species in any State." 

"New Hampshire has been pajdng for bears 
about as long as Maine, but in 1894 the State 
treasurer called attention to the large numbv^.r 
reported by four or five of the towns, and added 
that should the other 231 towns ^be equally suc- 
cessful in breeding wild animals for the State 
market, in proportion to their tax levy, it would 
require a State tax levy of nearly |2,000,000 to 
pay the bounty claims.' Even New York with- 
drew the rewards on bears in 1895, not because 
they had become unnecessary, but because the 
number of animals killed increased steadily each 
year." 

^^Wolf skins are often ruined by the require- 
ments of bounty laAvs, especially when the head, 
feet, or ears are cut off. The importance of 
preserving the skins in condition to bring the 
highest market price is as great as that of mak- 



BOUNTIES. 55 

ing it impossible to collect bounties twice. A 
slit in the skin can be sewed up so that it will 
never show on the fur side, but can not be con- 
cealed on the inside. A single longitudinal or 
vertical slit, or double or cross slits 4 inches 
long, in the center where the fur is longest, 
would serve every purpose of the law without 
seriously impairing the miarket value of the 
skin.'' 

One thing that is detrimental to the success 
of the bounty system, is the invariable "red 
tape" connected with such laws. In some states 
the bounty regulations are so complicated and 
so exacting, that trapi^ers do not care to follow 
"wolfing" because of the trouble in securing the 
bounty money. 

It would be impossible, in a work of this 
kind, to .give the bounty laws of the different 
states, also as they are repealed so frequently, 
detailed information on that subject would be 
of little value to the prospective hunter or trap- 
per. We give, however, an outline of the regu- 
lations in some of the principal wolf states. 

The State of Wyoming pays a bounty of five 
dollars each on timber wolves and mountain 
lions, and one dollar and twenty-five cents for 
each coyote. In addition to this, there are both 
county and stockmen's bounties in certain parts 



56 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

of the state. Some ranchmen offer as much as 
forty-five dollars each, for grey wolves caught 
on their ranches. 

In order to secure the state bounty, one must 
present the entire skin to the County Clerk, or 
Notary Public, of the county in which the ani- 
mal was killed, and accompanied by affidavit 
to the effect that the animal was killed in that 
county, by the person presenting the skin, on 
or after March 1st, 1909. The skin must have 
the feet and upper jaw or head, with both upper 
and lower lips attached. The head will then be 
cut off and destroyed by the county official. 
Applicants for bounty must be identified. 

With regard to private bounties, one should 
consult the county officials, but these, and in 
that case, the state bounty also, are as a rule, 
paid by the treasurer of the association offer- 
ing the bounty. 

Wisconsin pays twenty dollars on old wolves 
and eight dollars each on pups. Half of this 
bounty money is paid by the state and the other 
half by the county. In order to secure it, the 
trapper must take the carcass of the animal to 
the Town Chairman and remove the scalp in 
his presence. He gives a certificate to that ef- 
fect and the bounty claimant presents the scalp 
and certificate to the County Clerk, who destroys 
the scalp and gives an order to the County Treas- 



BOUNTIES. 57 

urer for one-half of the bounty. The County 
Clerk also sends an affidavit to the State Treas- 
urer, stating that you have presented the scalp 
and it has been destroyed and the claimant then 
receives the balance of the bounty money from 
the state. 

In the State of Washington the bounty is fif- 
teen dollars on timber wolves and one dollar on 
coyotes. The method of procuring the bounty as 
given here is coi^ied direct from the game law 
pamphlet : 

^'Upon the production to the county auditor 
of any county of the entire hide or pelt and 
right fore leg to the knee joint intact of any cou- 
gar, lynx, wild cat, coyote or timber wolf, killed 
in such county, each of which hides or pelts 
shall show two ears, eye holes, skin to tip of 
nose, and right fore leg to the knee join intact, 
the county auditor shall require satisfactory 
proof tlmt such animal was killed in such county. 
When the county auditor is satisfied that such 
animal was killed in his county, he shall cut 
from such hide or pelt the bone of the right fore 
leg to the knee as aforesaid which shall be 
burned in the presence of such auditor and one 
other county official, who shall certify to the 
date and place of such burning." 

Utah pays a bounty of ten dollars on grey 
wolves and two dollars and fifty cents on coyotes. 



"58 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

The entire skin, with tail, feet and the bones 
of the leg, to the knee, must be presented to the 
County Clerk within sixty days of the date on 
which said animal was killed. The County Clerk 
must then remove and destroy the bones of the 
legs and the applicant Avill sign an affidavit 
stating that the animal was killed by himself, in 
that county and within sixty days prior to that 
date. 

The county official will then send a certified 
statement to the State Auditor, along with the 
other papers, who, after same have been exam- 
ined, will transmit the bounty money to the 
claimant. 

No bounty will be paid on the skin of a 
grey wolf until it^ has been seen and passed 
upon hj the board of county commissioners at 
their first regular meeting. Bounty claimants 
must be identified by a reputable citizen and 
tax payer of the county. 

In Minnesota the bounty on grown wolves 
is seven dollars and fifty cents and one dollai^ 
for wolf pups. The bounty regulations are prac- 
tically the same as in the other states ; the entire 
skin with head and ears intact must be presented 
to the Town Clerk within thirty days and the 
applicant must take affidavit as to the date and 
place of the killing. 

In other states, if our information is cor- 



BOUNTIES. 59 

rect, the bounties ait present (1909) are as 
follows : 

ADULT WOLVES. YOUNG WOLVES. 

Arizona $10 00 

Arkansas 5 00 

Colorado 5 00 

Idaho 10 00? 

Kansas 5 00 

Michigan 25 00 $10 00 

Montana 10 00 

Nebraska 4 00 

New Mexico 20 00 

North Dakota 4 50 

Oregon 10 00 

South Dakota 5 00 

THE CANADIAN PROVINCES. 

Alberta 10 00 1 00 

British Columbia 15 00 

Ontario 15 00 

Quebec 15 00 

Saskatchewan 3 00 1 00 

The fraud so often practiced by unscrupu- 
lous parties has always been detrimental to the 
efficacy of the bounty system. The Bureau of 
Biological Survey, have issued a special circu- 
lar on this subject and being of general in- 
terest, it is reprinted here. 



COYOTES. 


$2 00 


1 00 


1 OO? 


1 00 


3 00 


1 25 


2 00 


2 50 


7 00 


1 50 


1 00 


2 00 



60 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

WASTE IN BOUNTY PAYMENTS. 

"The bounty s^^stem has everywhere proved 
an incentive to fraud, and thousands of dollars 
are wasted annually in paying bounties on coy- 
ote scalps offered in place of wolves, and on the 
scalps of dogs, foxes, coons, badgers, and even 
cats, Avhich are palmed off for wolves and coy- 
otes. If in all states having the bounty system 
whole skins, including nose, ears, feet, and tail 
of both adult and young animals, were required 
as valid evidence for bounty payments, the pos-^ 
sibility of deception would be reduced to a mini- 
mum. The common practice of paying bounty 
on scalps alone, or in some cases merely the ears, 
is dangerous, as even an expert can not always 
positively identify such fragments. A satisfac- 
tory way of marking skins on which the bounty 
has been paid is by a slit 4 to 6 inches long 
between the ears. This does not injure the skins 
for subsequent use. If all bounty-paying states 
would adopt such a system, the possibility of 
collecting more than one bounty on the same 
skin in different states would be avoided.'' 

"The following directions have been prepared 
as an aid to county and state officers in identi- 
fying scalps, skins, and skulls of wolves and 
coyotes, the pups of Avolves, coyotes, red, grey, 
and kit foxes, and young bob-cats, coons and 
badgers.^' ' 



BOUNTIES. ^1 

"The variation in dogs is so great that no one 
set of characters will always distinguish thein 
from wolves or coyotes, but when there is reason 
to suspect that dogs are being presented for 
bounties, their skins and skulls should be sent 
to the Biological Survey for positive identifi- 
cation. It goes without saying that anyone de- 
tected in such fraud should be prosecuted with 
a view to the suppression of these dishonest 
practices." 

KEY TO ADULT WOLVES AND COYOTES. 

WOLF. COYOTE. 

Width Of nose pad U to U inches f to 1 inch 

Width of heel pad of 

front foot U to 2 inches 1 mch 

Upper canine tooth — , /m • u 

greatest diameter at base 5/10 to 6/10 inch 3/10 to 4/10 mch 

These characters will not always hold in 
Oklahoma and Texas east and south of the 
Staked Plains, where there is a small wolf in 
size between the Coyote and Lobo or Plains 
wolf. 

KEY TO WOLF, COYOTE AND FOX PUPS. 

Wolf Pups. 
Muzzle blackish at birth, fading in a month or 6 weeks to 

greyish. 
Head greyish in decided contrast to black of back, nose and 

ears. 






COYOTE 





WOLF 



Difference in Sizes of Noses, Heel Pads and Canine Teeth 
of Wolves and Coyotes. 



BOUNTIES. 63 

Ears black at tips, fading to greyish in a month or 6 weeks. 
Tail black, fading to grey with black tip. 

Coyote- Pups. 

Muzzle tawny, or yellowish brown, becoming more yellowish 

with age. 
Head yellowish grey, not strongly contrasted with rest of 

body. 
Ears dark brown at tips and back, soon fading to yellowish 

brown 
Tail black, fading to grey with black tip. 

Red Fox Pups. 
Muzzle blackish. 

Head dusky with side of face light yellowish. 
Ears large, nearly the whole back of ears bright black at all 

ages. 
Eyes and ears relatively larger and nose pad smaller than in 

coyote or wolf. 
Tail dusky, tip white at all ages. 

Grey Fox Pups. 
Muzzle blackish. 

Head greyish, face back or eyes sharply pepper and salt grey. 
Ears large, back of ears dusky at tip, fulvous at base. 
Eyes and nose pad small. 
Tail with tip black at all ages. 

Kit Fox Pups. 

Muzzle with blackish patch on each side. 

Head and face tawny or yellowish brown. 

Ears tawny without black backs or tips. 

Eyes larger and nose pad smaller than in young coyote. 

Tail with tip black at all ages, 



64 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

KEY TO YOUNG CATS, COONS AND BADGERS. 

Young bobcats are much striped and spotted. Young cats of 
any kind can be distinguished by the short nose and 
round head. 

Young coons have a broad black band across the face and 
eyes bordered above by a Hght band. 

Young badgers have a white stripe between the eyes. 

The bounty laws have always been a good 
thing for the trapper as they have helped much 
towards making his occupation a lucrative one, 
but, as before explained, it is doubtful if it has 
ever, in any marked degree, tended to decrease 
the numbers of predatory animals. 

It is true that continued trapping will cause 
the numbers of wolves and coyotes to diminish, 
but would not the trapping be prosecuted prac- 
tically the same, even if there were no bounties? 
We believe that it would, for if the bounty 
offered were any great incentive, there would 
be more trapping done during the summer when 
the furs were of no account. 

Neither do we believe that it ever induces 
others, not trappers, to kill these animals, for 
they will kill them on every opportunity, bounty 
or no bounty. It is man's nature to kill, for 
he is the enemy of all animal life. 



CHAPTER Y. 



HUNTING YOUNG WOLVES AND COYOTES. 

— P THE many methods of hunting 

I and otherwise capturing wolves and 

coyotes, employed by the profession- 

al "wolfers" of the west, none is 

more remunerative than the hunt- 
ing of the young animals during the 
spring season. While the fur of the 
adult animals is of little value at 
"^'-^' that time and that of the young is 

not worth saving, the bounty which is usually 
paid for wolf and coyote pups will fully compen- 
sate for all loss from that source. At that time 
of year (March, April and May) there is very 
little fur of any value, to be had but the wolf 
hunter can combine wolf trapping and the hunt- 
ing of the parent animals with, the killing of the 
young, and the large bounties paid by many 
of the states and the various provinces of Can- 
ada, will alone enable one to do a profitable 
business. 

In those parts of our country where the ex- 
termination of the wolves and coyotes is neces- 
sary for the protection of stock and game and 
the authorities and stockmen co-operate for the 
6 65 




66 



68 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

destruction of predatory animals, the hunting 
of the young animals during the breeding season 
should be especially encouraged. In no other 
way can the number of wolves be so surely 
reduced. To those who are well acquainted with 
the habits of the wolf, their time of breeding and 
the most favored breeding grounds, this mode of 
hunting is very simple. 

Wolves breed much earlier than is commonly 
supposed, even by stockmen who have resided 
for a considerable length of time in the wolf 
country. The majority of young wolves are 
born in March in the Western States and the 
young of the coyote make their appearance main- 
ly in April, but occasional litters of both will 
appear in Ma}-, and grey wolves may be born 
at any time during the summer. 

On the western cattle range, the dens of the 
wolf and coyote are located mainly in the val- 
leys among the foothills of the mountain ranges 
and among the low mountains, but seldom at 
any great elevation. The steep side of a hill or 
canyon facing the south is the most favored lo- 
cation, and the rougher and more broken and 
brushy the ground, the better it suits the wolves 
for denning purposes. They especially like 
knolls, strewn with large boulders, from which 
the male parent can watch for the approach of 
enennies. 



HUNTING YOUNG WOLVES AND COYOTES. 69 

As before mentioned, the mode of hunting is 
very simple. All that is necessary is to look 
carefully over the breeding grounds until tracks 
are found and these should be followed to the 
den. It is safe to say that at that time of year, 
nine out of every ten tracks will lead to a den. 
On the northern portions of the range, there is 
almost certain to be good tracking snow during 
the early part of the breeding season, but even 
if the ground is bare it is not generally a dif- 
ficult matter to trail the animals to the den. A 
track that has been made in the evening should 
be followed backAvards and one made in the 
morning should be followed forwards, as the 
wolves do most of their hunting at night and 
return to the den in the early morning. When 
the track can not be followed, if one can get the 
general course of it, the lay of the land will en- 
able one, on many occasions, to locate the den. 

Whenever the hunter hears of wolves, or their 
signs having been seen frequently, he should 
make a diligent search for the den. As the old 
mother wolf always goes to the nearest water to 
drink, the number of tracks at a watering place 
will often be a dead give-away and a careful 
search of the locality Avill usually result in the 
discovery of the den. As the den is approached, 
the tracks will become more numerous, and near 
bv there will be well beaten trails. Where tracks 



70 WOLr AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

are numerous one should keep watch for the 
male, sentinel wolf, as he will alwa^^s be on the 
lookout somewhere near the den and his position 
will enable one to locate it more readily. As 
one approaches, the male animal will howl and 
endeavor to draw the hunter off in pursuit and 
thus prevent the finding of the den. Their tricks 
on such occasions show considerable intelligence. 

When looking for dens on bare ground, a 
dog, if he understands the work is very useful. 
A fox hound that is well trained on fox is good, 
but if trained for this style of hunting especially, 
will be found to be better. Unless on the trail of 
a bachelor wolf, which by the way are occasion- 
ally found during the breeding season, the dog 
will readily trail the wolf to the den. It is 
best to go earl}^ in the morning as the trail will 
be fresher at that time and the dog is more apt 
to follow a fresh trail, therefore, more certain 
of locating the den. In all probability, one of the 
old wolves will attempt to draw the dog off for 
a mile or two, but in that case the mother will 
endeavor to return to her young. Sometimes 
they find it necessary to fight the dogs and try 
to keep them from approaching too near the 
den. Anyway the actions of the animals will 
show when they are in the vicinity of the den, 
which may then be readily located. 

One hunter who uses a dog for this style 




n 



72 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

of hunting says : ^'The kind of a dog needed 
is a good ranger, extra good cold trailer and an 
everlasting stayer. Then if he will only run a 
short distance after starting the wolf and come 
back and hunt the pups and then bark at them 
when found, you have a good dog that is worth 
a large price. There are plenty of dogs that will 
hunt and trail wolves all right, but very few 
that will hunt the pups." 

The den is usually a natural one ; a hole worn 
in the rocks by the elements, or in washed out 
cavities in the hard ground of the bad lands. 
Dow^n in the valleys they sometimles den in the 
ground, enlarging the burrow of a badger or 
other animal. The opening is, as a rule, large 
enough to allow one to enter and secure the 
pups, but sometimes it will be necessary to dig 
the den open. For dens in the rocks, which are 
too small to allow one to enter, the hunter should 
provide a hook, something on the order of a 
gaff hook such as is used by fishermen. The 
hook should be of fair size, very sharp, and 
should be attached to a handle about three or 
four feet in length. A famous western wolf 
hunter in speaking of his outfit says : 

^^I will say to the boys wlio intend to liunt 
pups, get two or three strong fish hooks and a 
strong cord and carry them in your pocket. You 
can usually find a small stick or pole of some 



HUNTING YOUNG WOLVES AND COYOTES. 73 

kind. When you find a den, tie your hooks on 
end of stick, wrapping cord very tight. If you 
use two hooks, put one on each side of stick. 
Shove your stick i-. the den among the pups and 
turn or twist it and you will soon have a pup 
hooked. This works the best of anything I have 
ever tried; where pups are small. I have gotten 
many a bunch or pups this way, when my pick 
or shovel would oe &\e or six miles away. 




The Hunter's Outfit. 

When the pups get too large and strong to 
pull out alive, I put a candle on the stick, shove 
it into the den and lay on my stomach. With a 
22 riflle I shoot the pups in the head and then 
they are easily pulled out with the fish hooks. 
I mean this for dens that cannot be dug out, as 
there are many of them in rock ledges and in 
holes in the solid rock. Instead of the candles 
mentioned by this hunter, some prefer to use a 
lantern and one "wolfer" uses a hunting lamp, 




74 



HUNTING YOUNG WOLVES AND COYOTES. 75 

attached to his hat. Some sort of firearm should 
be carried always. A revolver is good for use 
in the den, but a rifle is best outside. 

It is not often that the mother wolf Avill be 
found in the den, as she usually makes her es- 
cape before one comes near, but should she be 
found at home she should be disposed of first. 
There is no danger, whatever, from the adult 
wolves. One of our western friends in speaking 
of this says : ^'I never hesitate in entering a 
wolf den, even when I know the mother wolf is 
with her j^oung, and have never known one to 
act vicious, but always sneaking and cowardly. 
A few years ago at the Cypress llills in Canada 
I entered a den and took ten pups. The mother 
crawled as far from me as she could and never 
raised her head. I set my 30-30 Savage and 
pulled it off with a rope, shooting her through 
the heart. It was forty feet from the entrance of 
the hole to where she lay, and it was midnight 
when I got her out. I had to move some dirt 
and rocks and it was a big job. 

^^I have killed other grown wolves in the den 
and have never known one to show fight. Of 
course, I ahvays use a lantern to see what I am 
doing, and would not enter a den without one." 
The young wolves should be killed im^nediately 
and live pups should never be handled with bare 
hands, as blood poisoning is likely to result 
from a bite. 




CHAPTER VI. 

HUNTING WOLVES WITH DOGS. 

EYOND all doubt wolf chasing as it 
is practiced in some parts of the 
country is one of the most fascinating 
of sports and in a place where the an- 
imals are fairly plentiful and the 
surface of the country is not too 
rough, is also profitable. In parts of 
the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Mich- 
igan, some of the professional wolfers use this 
method of securing their game and in the states 
lying west of the Mississippi River and east of 
the Rocky Mountains, also in Western Canada, 
wolf hunting is a very popular sport among the 
ranchmen. 

Among the dogs that are most approved of 
by the wolf and coyote hunters, may be men- 
tioned the fox hound, the greyhounds, and stag 
hounds of various varieties, the bloodhound and 
crosses of these dogs. The grey hounds are the 
swiftest of dogs and a pair of them are inva- 
riably to be found in a pack, the balance being 
some heavier and fiercer breed of dog, such as the 
blood hound, fox hound or a cross of the two. It 
is the grey hounds that run the game down 

70 



HUNTING WOLVES WITH DOGS. 77 

and hold it until the arrival of the balance of the 
pack, the lieavier dogs doing the actual fighting. 
One who has followed wolf hunting extensively 
gives the following short but interesting descrip- 
tion of the sport : ''On the open plains of the west, 
wolves are often hunted with large swift running 
dogs, grey hounds, stag or wolf hounds or their 
crosses. The hunters go on horseback and the 
wolves are usually roused out of some coulee 
or draw. Sometimes trail hounds are used to 
start the game, on breaking from cover and be- 
ing sighted by the running dogs the race is on. 
Wolf, dogs and horsemen, race across the often 
rough and dangerous ground at breakneck speed. 
The^wolf, manoeuvering to gain the coulee or 
cover of some sort and get out of sight of the 
dogs (the running dogs have only slight scent- 
ing powers and depend entirely on their sight). 
I'he' lighter and swifter grey hounds, as a rule, 
are the first to overtake the wolf and by coming 
up alongside and snapping at his flanks, force 
him to turn and face them, thus giving the 
heavier and fiercer wolf hounds a chance to close 
in and grapple with and kill the wolf. Unless 
the dogs are well trained and very courageous, a 
large timber wolf often proves more than a 
match for the bunch of four or five dogs.'' 

No matter what kind of dogs are used, they 
must be good tonguers and good fighters, and 



78 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

must have an abundance of strength and endur- 
ance. It is needless to say that the dog must be 
trained and this must be done at an early age. 
The young dog should never be run alone, for 
the wolf is likely to fight it off and once the 
young dog is driven back it will be spoiled for 
hunting purposes. 

One of our Kansas friends in speaking of 
wolf dogs says: ^'We have plenty of wolves 
(coyotes) and have had for the twenty years we 
have kept dogs. As to breeding, we used an Eng- 
lish greyhound bitch with courage, speed and a 
special hatred for a wolf, crossed with an Eng- 
lish fox hound with all the qualities necessary, 
except the speed. We then picked the bitch with 
the most good qualities and crossed her with an- 
other fox hound whose ancestry is perfect. Here 
we get the dog we are using now and with which 
we have made the most satisfactory of catches. 
We seldom have a run lasting more than three 
hours and catch many, when vegetation is not 
too high, in from one to one and a half hours. 
Where this dog has the advantage over the fox 
hound is in speed and the fact that it is ever on 
the watch ahead for the game." 

Evidently the party who used this breed of dog 
has endeavored to instil into the one type, all 
of the good qualities of the several breeds that go 
to make up the regulation pack of wolf dogs. It 



HUNTING WOLVES WITH DOGS. 79 

is surmised, also, that the one breed of dog is 
used alone, when chasing wolves. In Western 
Canada, wolf hunting is a favorite sport and one 
of the hunters from that section in speaking 
on this subject gives the following method of 
hunting : 

"First, we put a box on the sleigh big enough 
to hold our dogs and then hook up a livel}^ team, 
and strike across the country, leaving the dogs 
run along side. When a wolf is sighted, we get 
tlie dogs into the box and drive as close to the 
wolf as we can — that's usually from three to five 
hundred 3^ards^ — then turn the dogs loose and 
cheer them to victory. The dogs usually run 
down the Avolf Avithin a mile, and we follow as 
fast as horse flesh can take us. When the lead- 
ing dog gets alongside, tlie wolf stops, and in a 
second the dogs form a circle around him and 
he is a goner. Some hunters just turn the dogs 
loose, not knowing when they are ever going to 
see them again. That plan would not work with 
me. Good hounds are too exi^ensive to monkey 
with that way. I have found that letting one or 
two dogs on a wolf trail spoils them, because one 
wolf will give two dogs all they can handle, 
and sometimes a little bit more, especially if 
thej are young dogs. It takes two old dogs at 
least, to handle one wolf, and I have seen them 
get the hard end of it. The wolf perhaps would 




80 



■^ 



HUNTING WOLVES WITH DOGS. 81 

take to running into the serub and then it 
wouldn't be long until a pair of wolves would be 
slashing your dogs or ^fleecing' the stuffing out 
of them.'' 

Those who make a business of wolf hunting, 
or in other words, those who hunt for profit, do 
not always allow the dogs to fight and kill the 
wolf, but carry a gun with them, on all occa- 
sions and if they have an opportunity to shorten 
the chase by means of a well directed bullet, 
do not hesitate to do so. A high powered rifle 
should be used and one should learn to handle 
it in a business-like way. In the Western States 
where the large ranches are rapidly disappearing 
and the farm, with the barbed wire fence is 
taking its place, wolf hunting will soon be a 
thing of the past. Mr. Jack Kinsey, one of the 
most noted wolfers of the West, gives a descrip- 
tion of an exciting wolf chase, in which he 
illustrates this point, and we give the story in 
his own words : 

"While I was in Dakota last winter I had 
tAVO exciting wolf chases. I was stopping with 
Mr. Wm. Clanton, a cowman, living seven miles 
south of Harding, S. D. One day I w^as in his 
shop putting a coyote hide on a stretcher, when 
one of his neighbors drove up and asked Mr. 
Clanton if he had a rifle. He said, *Yes, there 

6 



82 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

is a wolfer here who has one.' ^Why,' his friend 
said, ^there are two big grey wolves just back 
over that hill.'' 

"I waited for no more but ran for my horse 
and gun. Clanton saw me going to the barn and 
told me to bring his horse. Now I was not long 
in getting those horses and we were soon on 
their trail. We followed their tracks about 
one and one-half miles when we sighted them. 
Picking out the largest of the two we both rode 
after him. The wolf started west towards some 
bad lands, but Mr. Clanton was riding a good 
young horse and he soon turned the wolf south, 
but now he was headed straight for a wire fence. 

"Mr. Clanton Avould have succeeded in turn- 
ing him again, but he struck a ditch full of snow, 
so the wolf got inside the pasture but I was 
fixed for wire fences. I had my trapping axe 
on my saddle and soon made a gate that we did 
not stop to fix up. We had run the wolf five or 
six miles by this time, and our horses were 
prejtty well winded. So we pulled them' up and 
let them take a slower gait until we got through 
the other side of the pasture. 

"As I said before, Mr. Clanton was riding 
the best horse, so he kept the outside while I took 
advantage of the cuts. Mr. Clanton was just 
far enough ahead of me to make one throw at the 
wolf with his rope, but he missed him. The w^olf 



HUNTING WOLVES WITH DOGS. 83 

cut in behind his horse, when I rode in front 
of him and put a 30-40 soft point in his head. 
He was a very large grey wolf. His hide 
stretched 6^ feet long. On the way back we saw 
three more wolves and two coyotes." 

We give the following spirited account of a 
wolf hunt which occurred in South Dakota: 

^'Will teW about one of my hunts behind a 
pair of wolf hounds that are certainly right when 
it comes to coyotes. I left my home here in 
Illinois on the 12th of December and arrived at 
Presho, S. D., early the 14th, where my friends 
met me, and we started for the ranch, which is 
about midway between Presho and Pierre. 

^^When we got to the reservation fence ( Brule 
Reservation), we kept a lookout for coyote signs, 
and located a place that we thought would be all 
right, and planned a hunt for the following 
Saturday. 

''The day proved all that could be desired, 
so we started out at noon. Earl, Claude, Mort, 
Chas., Sheldon and myself, with the two hounds, 
Ike and Lucy. A ride of about two miles brought 
us to the reservation, and the hunt was on. 

"Our outfit consisted of our saddled ponies 
and team and buggy, and by standing up in the 
buggy seat we located two coyotes on the side 
hill playing in the high grass. A circle around 
the hill and Lucv discovered them and was off 



84 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

.with Ike a second, as he was not as fast as 
Lucy. 

"Away we all go across the prairie with the 
team and buggy following the reservation fence 
to keep the coyote away from the fence. It was 
a short chase, as Lucy soon had Mr. Coyote by 
the hind leg and turned him on his' back quicker 
than it can be told, and Ike being close at hand 
soon had liim by the throat, so by the time we 
could get out horses stopped and turned Mr. 
Coyote was no more. 

"After skinning, we started for the buggy 
and Sheldon reported coyote No. 2 headed south 
down the draw, and Earl went after him around 
the hill and drove him back our way. 

"A shout from that direction and the dogs 
have discovered No. 2 and we are away with 
Lucy in the lead, and this time we are not far be- 
hind, so that when the dogs got him we w^ere 
right there, and the coyote not much hurt, so 
he gets a rope halter and is stowed away alive 
under the buggy seat. 

"The dogs are panting hard and are very 
thirst}^, Avith no water closer than five miles, 
so we head for home, but not far away on the 
hillside another one is seen and the buggy starts 
toward the left to head him toward the ranch, 
so the dogs will be running tow^ard home when 
they jump him'. 



HUNTING WOLVES WITH DOGS. 85 

"This time Ike catches sight and is off, and 
Lucy cuts across to head him off. It is a short 
chase, for old Ike soon has his favorite hold and 
all is over. 

"After skinning we started for home and as 
I hadn't ridden much for over a year you can 
gamble I was feeling pretty sore, for the pace 
a pack of hounds set isn't slow by a long shot. 
On driving into the yard the dogs were not slow 
about getting into the house and lying down. 

"The live coyote we tied to the buggy wheel, 
and while I was gone after a strap and chain he 
bit the rope off and ^cut the mustard' for parts 
unknown Avith about a foot of ro^^e still hang- 
ing to him. 

"We have good hunting here in the spring 
and fall, plenty of chickens and, some ducks 
and geese, with lots of jack rabbits and ( Flicker 
Tails), prairie dogs, and their side partners, 
owls and rattlers. 

"Our outfit is the bar circle outfit, O and I 
think our Holstein cattle are among the first 
herds in the state. Have since this hunt disposed 
of my interest in the O but still have a bunch of 
cattle at Presho, which supply the town with 
milk." 




CHAPTER VII. 

STILL HUNTING WOLVES A-ND COYOTES. 

UNTING wolves with dogs, as de- 
scribed in the preceding chapter is 
certainly exciting sport but it is 
doubtful if it is as remunerative as 
still-hunting, especially in the 
rough sections where hunting with 
dogs is almost impracticable. In parts of the 
country where wolves and coyotes are plentiful, 
as they are in many of the thinly settled por- 
tions of the West, they may be st^ill hunted at 
all times of the year. In the heavily timbered 
parts of the North, this method is practical only 
in winter. 

The outfit that is needed for still-hunting in 
tlie West is one or more good saddle horses and 
the necessary equipment and a good, high pow-* 
ered rifle. A pair of field glasses Avill also be 
useful, but some hunters equip their rifles with 
telescope sights and the fleld glass is unneces- 
sary. Hunters differ in their views, and with 
regard to rifles especially, there is a great dif- 
ference of opinion. What one believes to be 
perfect, and Avliich answers his purpose admir- 
ably, another has no use for whatever, 

86 



STILL HUNTING WOLVES AND COYOTES. 87 

The arm selected sliould, however, have con- 
siderable power, and the flight of the bullet 
should be rapid, with a low trajectory.. On the 
Western Plains the atmosphere is so light and 
transparent, and there is such a sameness to 
the surface of the country that one may easily 
be deceived in distances and Avith the high pow- 
ered long-ranged rifle, there is less liability of 
errors, as the accurate estimating of distances is 
not necessary. 

A gun of rapid action is also to be recom- 
mended and bej^ond all doubt the automatic 
acting arms are superior for shooting at running 
game. Personally, if the writer were selecting 
an arm for this kind of hunting, a high jdow- 
ered automatic rifle would be chosen, and it 
would be fitted with a small bead front sight 
and hunting peep rear sight. For use on horse 
back the shorter barrels are to be preferred. 

In speaking of the outfit it is presumed that 
the wolf hunter would be a resident of the west- 
ern country and would be hunting from home or 
anyway, making his headquarters at some ranch 
and hunting from there. If, however, he wants 
to go out into virgin territory, or if a stranger, 
he might find it necessary to camp out and in 
that case he would require a complete camping 
outfit. Some of the western wolfers use covered 
wagons for camps and this style of camp is very 



STILL HUNTING WOLVES AND COYOTES. 89 

convenient as it may be moved easily, but if the 
surface of the country is very rough, this plan is 
not practical. In that case a tent would be 
needed and the hunter would use a pack horse 
in moving camp. 

Speaking of saddle horses, in the more arid 
parts of the wolf country, the vegetation is 
scanty and horses require considerable time in 
which to rustle food. For that reason the sanie 
horse can not be used each day and one should 
have several so that each would have plenty of 
time to recuperate, after use. If one can obtain 
horses that will allow one to shoot from the 
saddle, so much the better. No special knowl- 
edge of hunting is required, but one should be 
expert in the use of the rifle, and should also 
be a good rider. All that is necessary 'is to ride 
over the rougher parts of the country, where 
wolves are most likely to be seen, and keep a 
sharp lookout for the game. It is always best 
to hunt to windward as one can approach closer 
to the game. 

Where the bounty is sufficient to make sum- 
mer hunting profitable, we would recommend 
this style of hunting at that time of year. In 
summer, hunting with dogs is not as simple a 
matter as in winter and trapping is not as good 
as during the colder part of the year. For coy- 
otes, still hunting is a very successful method 



90 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

in parts of the country where the animals are 
plentiful and there is probabl}^ no place in Avhich 
the method could be used to better advantage 
than in the sheep-raising district of Montana 
and Wyoming. There coyotes may be sighted 
every day and if the hunter would make a prac- 
tice of following up the large herds of sheep to 
the summer range, he would alwaj^s be sure of an 
abundance of game. 

One is most likely to sight coyotes by rid- 
ing along the coulees and over the rougher 
ground. About prairie dog towns are excellent 
places, as there they will frequently be found 
looking for the little inhabitants of the burrows. 
Other good places are the ragged, craggy parts 
of the Bad Lands and in the sage brush along 
the watercourses. 

In winter one may follow the tracks in the 
snow and will stand a better chance of securing 
the game. While still hunting alone might not 
prove a very profitable method of hunting if one 
were hunting for bounty, it should always be 
used in connection with trapping and den hunt- 
ing. As mentioned in a previous chapter one will 
often get shots at the adult animals near the 
dens and if one knows of the location of a den, 
he may often get a shot by watching it. Any- 
way the rifle should always be carried, and it 



STILL HUNTING WOLVES AND COYOTES. 91 

should be used whenever a wolf or coyote is seen 
within range. 

We *will conclude this chapter by giving an 
account of a coyote still-hunt, as recorded by one 
of our western friends. 

''It was one of those bright balmy Septem- 
ber mornings, so characteristic of AVyoming, 
that I drove my horses down to water and no- 
ticed some coyote tracks in the mud at the edge 
of the water hole, and I decided then and there 
to have a coyote hunt that day. I was at the 
time in charge of a relay station, midway be- 
tween two small towns and it was my business 
to look after the spare stage horses, for the 
stage driver changed teams here, leaving the 
tired horses in my care and taking on fresh ones. 
The northbound stage passed about 8.30 A. M., 
and the southbound outfit was due at about 6.30 
P. M., which left me with practically the entire 
day at my disposal, to do with as I liked, and 
having my full quota of the spirit of our savage 
ancestors, I naturally turned to hunting the 
coyotes which abounded in that section. 

"For some time past I had been doing prac- 
tically no hunting. I say ^practically none' for- 
I had not been out on a real hunt for several 
weeks, but I did have a short line* of traps set 
and had been looking at them every second morn- 



92 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

ing. On these trips over the trap line I always 
carried my 30-30 carbine on the saddle and had 
surprised and shot three coyotes, besides shoot- 




Killed by the Still Hunt. 

ing at several more, one of which was wounded 
but escaped by crawling into a deep hole in a 
bad-land butte. Besides the three animals men- 



STILL HUNTING WOLVES AND COYOTES. 93 

tioned, I had caught in my traps up to that time, 
some twenty more. 

"On this particular morning the ^Spirit of 
the Wild' called loudly, for as every hunter 
knows, there is something in the air of autumn 
which gets into one's blood at times, and there 
is no remedy except to go on a hunt. My trap 
line had been looked at the day before, so I was 
free for the day. Returning to the little sod 
house which I called my home, I got my rifle 
and six shooter, prepared a lunch and as soon as 
the stage had arrived, changed horses and de- 
parted, I mounted my horse and hit the trail for 
the hills to the westward. 

"The section of the country to the west of the 
station was of the bad-land type, groups of 
buttes and ridges, radiating in every direction, 
seamed and honey-combed by the rains of cen- 
turies. While the country is very dry, the rains 
are veritable deluges when they do come, and the 
ordinarily dry water courses become raging tor- 
rents. Along these creek beds, sage and grease 
wood brush was abundant ; in the hills, no vege- 
tation was to be found. It was at all times a 
paradise for coyotes and occasionally a band of 
grey wolves strayed through those parts. How- 
ever, the wolves had been rarely met with since 
the stockmen had abandoned the cattle industry 



94 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

and gone to sheep raising, but the coyotes had 
increased in numbers. 

^'At this time of the year, the sheep were be- 
ing driven down from the mountains into their 
winter range and in addition to the coyotes 
which remained, throughout the summer, in the 
bad-lands, the still larger number which make 
a practice of following up the great bands of 
sheep were also appearing on the scene, and 
the day promised good sport. 

^^Kiding westward about two and a half 
miles, I struck the bed of a stream and followed 
it up towards the hills. Here, I knew there 
were several prairie dog villages and about such 
places one is almost certain to find coyotes, so 
I turned my horse that way in the hope of get- 
ting a shot at one of the wary animals. My 
fond hopes were realized, for on rounding the 
hill at the edge of the first village I saw a large 
coyote slinking guiltily over the crest of the 
nearest ridge, but giving me no chance to draw 
the gun before he passed out of sight. Hastily 
riding to the top of the ridge, I saw the animal 
making his get-away down the draw at the other 
side and throwing my carbine to my shoulder, 
I caught a quick aim and fired just as he was 
rounding a spur of the ridge about a hundred 
and fifty yards away. Snap-shooting from 
horseback is uncertain at all times and on this 



STILL HUNTING WOLVES AND COYOTES. 95 

occasion I had barely time to catch a half- 
hearted aim, so was not very hopeful regarding 
the results of my shot. 

"Riding up to the spot, I dismounted and 
on looking the ground over, was elated to find a 
splotch of blood, but farther search revealed no 
other traces of the game. Naturally, I supposed 
that the animal had gone on down the draw and 
mounting my horse I rode slowly down the hol- 
low, keeping a sharp lookout for the coyote. 
x4fter looking the ground over for a quarter of 
a mile or more, and finding no signs of the game, 
i decided that this animal, anywa}^, was lost 
and returned to the scene of the shooting. Dis- 
mounting once more, I took the rifle and climbed 
to the top of the ridge to see what lay beyond. 
Imagine my surprise and delight when on reach- 
ing the top, Avhich was low at this point, I saw 
the wounded coyote, vainly endeavoring to es- 
cape at the bottom of the depression on the other 
side. 

''The first glance showed that the animal was 
badly wounded and could not last long, but fear- 
ing that it would fall into a hole, I took a hasty 
shot and had the satisfaction of seeing it crum- 
ple down, apparently lifeless. On approaching, 
however, I found that it still retained enough 
life to make a vicious snap at my hand, missing 
that member by only a few inches. As I 



9G WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

watched it, undecided whether to shoot it again 
or leave it bide its own time, it breathed its 
last. 

^'It was a fine, large specimen and after skin- 
ning it, which required some twenty minutes of 
my time, I looked it over and found that my first 
bullet had struck it in the right hip, breaking 
the bone and passing through the body diag- 
onally, emerging at the left shoulder. It was 
certainly a good shot and had I been using soft 
point bullet cartridges instead of full metal 
patched, the animal would have been killed in- 
stantly. It is surprising, however, how tenaci- 
ous of life these animals are. The second shot 
had passed through the shoulders. 

"I returned to the prairie dog villages bTit 
saw no more coyotes. I did see a badger and 
fired at it just as it was about to enter the bur- 
row, but missed the animal entirely. Going 
back to the creek bed I followed on up into the 
hills to a small alkali spring where I halted to 
eat my lunch. The water from this spring en- 
tirely disappears within two hundred yards of 
the place where it rises. The sun was shining 
fiercely hot by this time, and after eating my 
lunch I made a cigarette and crawled into the 
grateful shadow of the bank where I rested for 
a full hour. I had intended to make a large 
circle but found now that I would not have the 



STILL HUNTING WOLVES AND COYOTES. 97 

time that such a trip would necessitate and ^o 
decided to go on northward through this range 
of hills and return home over the trap line. 

"At the edge of the hills I found the traces 
of a sheep outfit and on rounding a spur so as 
to obtain a gpod view of the little valley beyond, 
I saw the white topped wagon of the herder 
at the far-side/ but the sheep Avere farther down 
the hollow. Here I expected to find coyotes and 
I was not disappointed, for on riding through a 
patch of sage which covered several acres, a 
coyote broke cover on the opposite side. Three 
shots followed each other in rapid succession, 
throwing dirt and gravel over the fleeing animal 
but without harming him, and having no other 
effect than to increase his speed. I followed 
for some distance but failed to get another shot 
at the coyote and soon lost sight of it. Signs 
of coyotes were numerous here and about a mile 
farther I found the remains of two sheep which 
had been killed and eaten by the animals. 

"As I rode over a small sag of a ridge and 
entered the head of a long narrow hollow, I saw 
a coyote trotting along down the draw about two 
hundred yards below me. The animal started to 
run before I could catch aim and I emptied the 
magazine in short order the last shot dropping 
the coyote, but it was not badly hurt and leaping 
to its feet it made off down the holloAv. How- 

7 



98 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

ever, it enabled me to get quite close and putting 
spurs to the horse, I followed the animal, firing 
with my reyolver. The third shot rolled it over 
and a fourth finished it, making two coyotes out 
of three shot at tlmt day. 

^^Skinning the animal I mounted and hur- 
ried on to look at the traps. There were sixteen 
traps in the line and all but tAvo of them had 
been undisturbed. Of tliese two, the bait was 
taken from one but the wary animal had ap- 
parently known just where the trap lay and 
had avoided it, the other held a young, female 
coyote. After looking at the traps, I returned 
home and dressed and stretched the skins of 
the captured animals. 

'The skin of the coyote is of no value as fur, 
at that time of the year, but the combined state 
and stockmen's bounties aggregated |4 on each 
animal, so that I had |12 for my day's hunt. 
During the fall and early winter I captured by 
means of traps and gun, a hundred and thirty- 
three coyotes and four wolves. All of the un- 
prime skins taken that fall were tanned by my- 
self and made into robes.'' 



CHAPTER VIII. 

POISONING WOLVES. 

Pk OISONING noxious animals is a 
J common practice and is much used 
Avhere tlie only object is to destroy 
mmmg^^^m the animals, and the finding of 
|BB|||M the carcass is of little moment, 
\^"0j — ^ but the real hunters and trappers 
'^^T^^"-^'"* seldom resort to this method be- 
\-j^£r-'-' " cause of the large numbers of ani- 
"^ nials that are killed and lost. It 

is, indeed, a wasteful method of hunting as in 
all probability^, three-fourths of the animals 
killed by the poisoned baits are not found until 
they have lain so long that they have become 
tainted, or ruined by mice and birds, so that 
both the bounty and the fur are lost. Anyway 
that is the conclusion of many of those who have 
practiced poisoning. 

In many places where wolves and coyotes 
could be poisoned readily in early days the 
method is not a success at present as the ani- 
mals have learned by experience to avoid the 
poisoned food. Strychnine is usually employed 
and this very bitter drug has a way of spreading 
through the bait, so that the wolf can sometimes 
. . 99 



100 \ WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

detect it as soon as the bait touches the tongue. 
In such cases, the drug is never swallowed, but 
may be dropped on the spot or as is more often 
the case, it may be carried a considerable dis- 
tance away before it is dropped. Again if the 
animal swallows the poisoned bait, it may be 
some time before it dissolves in the Avolfs stom- 
ach and the poison begins to act, and if the wolf 
begins to feel the effects of the drug, it may 
start off on a run. In either case it is not 
likeh^ to be found even if there is snow on the 
ground as the wind will soon obliterate the 
tracks. 

In the government pamphlet before mem- 
tioned, ]Mr. Bailey has tlie following to say about 
poisoning : 

^'Many wolves are killed by poisoning, and 
more would be so killed if the methods followed 
w^ere less crude. Strychnine is generally used 
with nothing to disguise its intense bitterness, 
the powder being either inserted in bits of meat 
or fat or merely spread on a fresh carcass. In 
most cases the Avolf gets a taste of the bitter 
drug and rejects it, and if the dose is swallowed 
it may be too small to be fatal or so large as 
to act as an emetic. An old and experienced 
wolf will rarely touch bait poisoned in the ordi- 
nary way, but sometimes a whole family of 
young may be killed at a carcass. Usually when 



POISONING WOLVES. 



101 



wolves are poisoned, they go so far before they 
die that if found at all it is not until their 
skins are spoiled. To encourage poisoning, it 
must be possible to secure the skins in good 
condition, or at least, to find the animals after 
they are killed, so that the ranchman may have 
the satisfaction of knowing that he has accomp- 
lished something toward the protection of his 
stock." 

^^In the use of poison it is of first importance 
to determine the amount that will kill with cer- 
tainty in the shortest possible time. According 
to German and French authorities on toxicology, 
the smallest dose of strychnine that will kill a 
25 pound dog is approximately one-fourth of a 
grain. Quadruple this for a 100 pound wolf and 
we have 2 grains. Mr. B. E. Ross, of the Hud- 
son's Bay Company, found that this quantity 
would kill a wolf quickly. Experiments by 
Prof. David E. Lantz, of the Biological Survey, 
would indicate the best results from a still larger 
dose. One grain killed a 21 pound dog in sev- 
enty-five minutes, while 2 grains killed a 40 
pound dog in twenty-seven minutds, without 
acting as an emetic. For a wolf, therefore, 4 
grains of pure sulphate of strychnine would seem 
to be a proper dose." 

"Tests on 40 pound dogs with 1 and 2 grains 
of cyanide of potassium in capsules caused the 



102 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

dogs to vomit in about fourteen minutes, after 
Avliich they fully recovered. Other more deadly 
poisons can not be safely handled, and strych- 
nine is the only practicable poison that can be 
recommended.'' 

^'For wolves, place 4 grains of pulverized 
sulphate of strychnine in a 3 grain gelatin cap- 
sule, cap securely, and wipe off every trace of 
the bitter drug. Tlie capsules should be in- 
serted in a piece of beef suet the size of a wal- 
nut, and the cavity securely closed to keep out 
moisture. The juice of fresh meat will dissolve 
the gelatin capsule, hence only fat should be 
used. The necessary number of these poisoned 
baits may be prepared and carried in a tin can 
or pail, but they should not be touched with 
naked hands. Old gloves or forceps should be 
used to handle them. The baits may be dropped 
from horseback along a scented drag line made 
by dragging an old bone or piece of hide, or 
may be placed on, around, or ]oartly under any 
carcass on which the wolves are feeding, or 
along trails followed by the wolves. Partial 
concealment of the bait usually lessens the wolfs 
suspicion, while some kind of scent near by or 
along the trail insures its attention." 

"The gelatin capsule will dissolve in about 
a minute in the juices of the mouth or stomach. 
When the strychnine is taken on an empty 



POISONING WOLVES. 103 

stomacli it will sometimes kill in a very few 
minutes after the first symptoms of poison, and 
dies five or six minutes later.'' 

Although this is the method recommended 
by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, it is 
our opinion that it would not be successful, for 
it takes too long for the gelatin capsule to dis- 
solve in the animal's stomach, anyway that is 
the verdict of those who have tried tlie method. 
Those who have followed poisoning of foxes and 
wolves, prefer to place the poison in a small ball 
of tallow by making the tallow cup-shaped when 
cold, putting the strychnine inside and closing 
th3 opening by pressing the edges over it. None 
of the poison must be alloAved to touch the out- 
side of the bait. 

The most common method of using the poison 
is to have out a large bait (the carcass of some 
animal that the wolves have killed is to be pre- 
ferred), and after the animals are visiting it 
the poisoned baits are thrown about nearby. 
Any indications of the presence of man will 
make the animals suspicious and they will hesi- 
tate to approach the large bait but are very apt 
to pick up and swallow the small ones. We 
believe that this is the most successful method 
of using poison, but there are other methods 
recommended by woodsmen. Some place the 
poison in the large bait but we think this is 



104 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

entirely Avrong as the wolf will taste the poison 
before it gets enough of the drug to cause its 
death. One part}^ in speaking of the conditions 
in Northern Ontario, says: 

''I think the wolf-poisoning business is being 
overdone. How would your readers like to find 
poisoned wolf bait within one hundred yards 
of their door, and some all round their houses 
within a radius of 300 yards? This bait con- 




Method of Preparing Poison Baits. 

sists in man^^ cases of, say, half a deer. I think 
it is very wrong to allow strong, able-bodied 
men to pollute the country, noAV in the spring 
of the year, with large pieces, or in many cases, 
whole carcasses of deer. The wolf poisoner never 
stops to think what the result will be to his 
neighbor's dogs or poultry and cattle from their 
leaving large pieces of meat in an exposed po- 
sition when the snow goes off. In fact, the thing 
is being carried in this part so far that neither 



P0I80NIX(J WOLVES. 105 

fur-bearin<»' auimals nor fish will be procurable 
at any cost in a short time." 

''As it is, the farmer's dogs have been suf- 
fering, and are nearly extinct here. For the last 
few seasons it has been quite common to see 
large quantities of dead fish round the lake after 
this poisoned meat goes into the water. I un- 
derstood that parties laying out poison had to 
observe certain regulations, so that no person's 
property would be endangered thereby, and if 1 
am rightly informed, it must be some person's 
duty to stop the nuisance. No doubt it is a 
good thing to get rid of the wolves, but the 
poisoning ought to be prosecuted far enough 
from settlements and from public roads that 
stock and poultry will not be endangered by 
the bait." 

It is advisable when using poison to leave 
no human odors on the bait and to preveYit so 
doing, some people prepare the baits . without 
touching them with the bare hands. A simpler 
method is to make up the baits several days in 
advance and place them in a clean vessel, out of 
reach of all animals, and where they will be 
exposed to the open air. In this way, the human 
oacjr will pass away, and when they are i^laced 
out for the wolves they should not be touched 
with the hands. 

The poison should not be placed in a capsule 



106 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

as that is too uncertain. There is very little 
danger of giving an overdose. The writer has 
seen strychnine used in large doses, consider- 
ably more than four grains, and the results were 
far better than when using smaller doses. 

Strychnine is to be had in crystals or in 
crushed or powdered form. Both forms are 
equally deadly, but some poisoners claim that 
it will act more rapidl^^ when crushed. The fol- 
lowing article on poisoning is given by a Wy- 
oming trapper : 

^'I have used strychnine and it is a poor 
idea for a trapper to use it as it destroys more 
fur than anything and also makes animals very 
shy about taking bait. The best way is to put 
the strychnine in lard which has no salt in it. 
I take some lard and put on my gloves or mitts 
and go in the shade or early in the morning 
where it is almost at the freezing- point, so the 
lard will stay hard. I pinch it off in one inch 
chunks, take it between my hands and roll it 
in round balls, take a pocket knife or stick and 
drill a hole in it. Then fill it with strych- 
nine and close the opening up by mashing the 
lard over the hole. Be careful not to get any 
strychnine on the outside as it has a bitter taste 
and if he tastes it he is almost sure to spit it 
out." 

"('are must be taken not to touch the outside 



POISONING WOLVES. 107 

with the bare hands as the first thing a coyote 
will do is to smell it and if there is much human 
scent on it, he will not take it. I dip it in blood 
to kill some of the human scent. I have known 
a coyote to travel half a mile with a piece of 
strychnined meat in his mouth and then feeling 
it woiiv on him, drop it and trot on." 

"Now to show that4t wastes furs and makes 
them wild, suppose it had snowed, blowed or \ 
covered his track in some way ; a skunk in pass- 
ing by and finding it, would get poisoned, which 
would be a loss of one fur, or suppose it were 
a miuk or something else, it would have been 
the same. The chances are that the trapper 
would not have found it until it was spoiled." 

"A coyote will travel a few hundred yards 
after taking the strychnine, even if it is put in 
lard or tallow. If he has eaten a large meal 
of frozen meat and then the poison, he will go 
far enough so he will be hard to find, and never 
found if you have any amount of bait to look 
after and it bloAvs and covers his tracks up and 
maybe his carcass too. The result is that it 
makes otlier animals of his tribe leary about 
taking baits." 

"Birds such as magpies, ravens, and crows 
will eat poison and fly off and die and be de- 
voured by coyotes, foxes, mink, skunk, etc. The 
result is that many of them die, and what don't, 



108 ' WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 



get SO sick that the}- are very careful about 
toucbiug the next bait the^^ see, generall}^ giving 
it a wide berth. Then there are lots of birds, 
such as camprobbers and magpies that carry it 
off and store it awa^^ for martens or something 
else to eat and get poisoned by. There was a 
veiy large amount of skunk, but owing to the 
fact that many people poison whole carcasses for 
coyotes and wolves, they are rapidly disappear- 
ing." 

"Some people claim that the dog destroys 
more furs than an^^thing, but I believe that 
strychnine is a greater evil than a dog or at 
least in this county, so you see I have a good 
reason for advising a trapper not to use strych- 
nine. It is the easiest way and the quickest 
way to get a few furs, if in the hands of an 
experienced man, but the fure are always a lower 
grade because the poison acts on the fur and 
there is always a hide now and then that the 
hunter will not find at once." 

"The trapper will have the most furs and in 
(he best condition at the end of the season and 
generally a place to trap more at the next season. 
The strychnine hunter will have to hunt a dif- 
ferent place as what animals he failed to kill, will 
leave the country or become so wary that they 
will not touch bait. An animal which has re- 
covered from a dose of poison, carries a pelt that 
is oft times worthless." 



CHAPTER IX. 

TRAPPING WOLVES. 

^W FTER all of the various methods of 
l IlV Imnting have been given a fair and 
i5fB!\ impartial trial it will usually be 
found that trapping is the best means 
of capturing the wolf and coyote. 
Large numbers of traps may be set 
and attended to and the chances of making a 
good catch are greatly increased by so doing. 
If one has a liking for the work, makes a study 
of the animals and sets the traps carefully, good 
results are sure to follow. In all probability, 
four fifths of the coyotes and wolves captured in 
the United States are taken in this way. It is 
quite common for the professional trapper to 
take one hundred or more coyotes and wolves 
in a season. 

The trap that is recommended for the timber 
wolf and the only one that was ever designed 
for capturing that animal is the '"Newhouse" 
No. 4^. It is a large and powerful trap, having 
a spread of jaws of 8 inches with the other 
parts properly proportioned. It is furnished 
with a two pronged drag and a heavy steel 
chain, guaranteed to stand a strain of 2000 

109 



110 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

pounds. The trap complete with chain and 
drag weighs about 8 pounds. A simpler and 
stronger chain fastening than that shown in the 
cut, is now used for attaching the chain to the 
trap. 

Although the No. 4^ is the trap recomjnended 
for timber wolves, the No. 4 Newhouse is prob- 




4^ Newhouse Wolf Trap. 



ably preferred by the average trapper, because 
of its lighter weight and its adaptability to 
catching coyotes, which are found in greater 
abundance than wolves. The trap has a spread 
of jaws of 6^ inches, and its strength is sufia- 
cient for holding almost any wolf, providing the 
captured animal is not allowed to struggle too 
long, and that the trap is not staked, or other- 



TRAPPING WOLVES. Hi 



wise securely fastened. Even when securely 
rtaked the /o. 4 Newhouse will hold almost any 
one of 'the younger grey wolves, and it is mostly 
the young animals that are captured. 

The standard trap is furnished with a short 
chain and ring, but when so ordered, the manu- 
facturers wiU gladly furnish the traps with 
longer chains and the two pronged drag shown 




The Two-Pronged Drag. 



in the cut, or if desired the drags alone may be 
purchased and attached to any trap chain. The 
two pronged drag has an advantage over the 
four pronged kind, as it will occupy less space 
and may be more easily secreted. 

It will be noted that the chain of the Ivo. 4^ 
trap has a double end. This is so that it may be 
looped around a small log or block of ^ood 
if it is desired to do so. Some trappers prefer 



112 



WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 



the chain without the iron drag, and for such 
the drag will be omitted. Others prefer to use 
the No. 4 trap with a 5 foot chain and a stone 
Avired securely to the end. This maks a very 
good combination, but for some sections is not 
practicable as stones are ''few and far between.^' 




Method of Attaching an Oblong Stone. 



On^tlie subject of fastening traps, Mr. Vernon 
Bailey of the Biological Survey gives the fol- 
lowing : 

''The best anchor for a wolf trap is a stone 
drag of 30 or 40 pounds weight, to which the 
trap is securely wired. A long oval stone is the 
best, but a triangular or square stone can be 



TRAPPING WOLVES. 



113 



.securely wired. Ordinary galvanized fence wire 
or telegraph wire should be fastened around the 
ends of the stone and connected by a double 
loop of the Avire, then the trap chain fastened to 
the middle of this loop. A jerk on the trap tends 




Method of Attaching a Triangular Stone. 



to draw tlie bands together, and the spring of 
the connecting wire loop prevents a sudden jar 
that might break trap or chain. Twisted or 
barbed fence wire may be used if sufficiently 
strong, but it is not so easily handled. If no 

8 



114 



WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 



stones are available, or if the trap must be im- 
movably fixed, it should be fastened with a 
twisted iron stake that can be driven below 
the surface of the ground. These stakes should 
be at least 18 inches long and of good iron 
straps three quarters of an inch wide and three- 
sixteenths of an inch thick. In light soil they 
should be still longer. See figures 1 and 2. If a 
picket pin sufficiently strong, provided with a 





fig-s 

Iron Stakes for Traps. 

swivel that will turn in all directions, can be 
purchased at the local hardware store, it may 
not be necessary to have a pin made to order." 
It is our opinion that the twisted pin would 
not be as satisfactory as the plain one shown in 
Fig. 3. If the swivel should lock, and fail to 
work, the stake might be twisted out of the 
ground by the struggles of the animal. With 
the hea^^, square pin shown in Fig. 3, this could 



TRAPPING WOLVES. 



115 



not occur. The pin should be made of wrought 
iron, about f or f inch in diameter at the top, 
and tapering to a point. The length should be 
the same as those described above. 

The majority of the trappers who prefer to 
stake the traps \ise hardwood stakes and attach 
the chains by means of hay baling wire, twisting 
it with a pair of pliers. In many parts of the 
wolf country, hardwood is not to be had and 
manv of the trappers use the spokes of old wagon 
wheels for trap stakes. We believe, however, 
that iron stakes are to be preferred to wooden 

ones. 

The traps to use for coyotes are the Isos. 6 
and 4 and the most suitable style of chain would 
depend entirely on the method of setting and 
fastening the traps. In some of the sets de- 
scribed, for both wolf and coyote, the traps, 
some three or four in number, are all fastened 
to one stake and for such a set the chains should 
be short, as also in the bank set. Where it is 
desired to use a drag of any kind, the chain 
should be 4 or 5 feet in length. This should be 
remembered when purchasing the traps and the 
method of setting that will be used should be 
kept in mind. 

As before mentioned, most of the wolves 
caught are young animals less than a year old. 
After a wolf has reached its third year, it has 



116 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

attained a high degree of intelligence, and com- 
paratively few of that age are caught in traps. 
In some sections Avolves are mijire wary than in 
others and are more difficult of capture. This 
depends much on the abundance or scarcity of 
food and the amount of hunting and trapping 
that has already been done in that section. 
Where wolves and coyotes have not been trapped 
much, they are less shy but they are always suf- 
ficiently wary to make extreme care in setting 
the traps necessary for success. 

No matter what method of trapping may be 
employed, there is on\j one satisfactory way of 
setting the trap, on bare ground. In a smooth, 
sand}^ spot, dig out a hollow the same shape as 
the set trap and of such a depth that when the 
trap is in place and covered with about J inch 
of dirt, the covering will be flush with the sur- 
rounding surface of the ground. A narrow 
trench m^ij then be made, to accommodate the 
chain, and a hole in which to bury the drag. If 
a stake is used it may be driven under the trap 
and the trench will not be needed, or it may be 
driven at the side according to the method of 
setting but the stake must be neatly covered in 
all cases. The trap is then placed in position, 
the chain, drag and springs are covered and the 
portion outside of the jaws is filled with dirt, 
leaving only the jaws and pan uncovered. Now 



TRAPPING WOLVES. 



117 



a sheet of clean paper sliould be placed over 
the jaws and pan and the whole covered with 
about i or I inch of fine dirt, covering the edges 
first and finishing with the center. A piece of 
canvas or hide should be provided, on which to 
place the dirt while setting the traps, and with 
which to carry away what is not needed for 
covering. When the ^setting is finished every- 
thing should look as 'smooth and undisturbed 
as it did before the trap was set. 




Trap Set and Ready for Covering. 

In case the paper sags between the trap 
jaws and the pan, a few lumps of ground may be 
so placed as to support it, but care must be 
used so that no dirt gets under the pan. In 
freezing weather, make the nest for the trap 
somewhat deeper and line it well with sage 
leaves or some other light material, also fill in 
around jaAvs and springs with same, before cov- 
ering. This will prevent the trap from freezing 
down. Do not put cotton under the pan as some 
advise doing, for if it gets wet it will freeze and 
interfere with the working of the trap. If the 
traps spring too easily, they may be remedied 



118 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

bj drilling a small hole through the edge of the 
pan and inserting a tooth pick or small twig in 
such a way that it will support the pan. This 
will prevent birds and small animals from 
springing the traps. The same result may be ob- 
tained by bending the point of the ^'dog" or 
trigger of the trap upward and thereby causing 
the trap to spring harder. 

Always before placing the trap in position, 
turn the springs towards the jaw that is held 
down by the trigger. This will allow the loose 
jaw to drop down to a level and let the trap 
rest more solidly in its nest. When adjusting 
the pan, always work from under the loose jaw, 
to avoid accidents. 

Many trappers advise wearing gloves when 
setting or otherwise handling the traps, to pre- 
vent leaving human scent. It is our opinion 
that this is not only unnecessary but also use- 
less, as the human odor will pass through a 
leather glove readily, and even through the sole 
of a heavy shoe. While there is no doubt that the 
scent of man will put any wary animal on its 
guard, there is no way to avoid leaving this same 
scent about the setting. This, however, will 
pass away after three or four days and it is after 
the traps have been set for some time that most 
of the wolves and coyotes are captured. 

Although the traps may be handled with 



TRAPPING WOLVES. 119 

bare hands, we would advise that it is wise to 
uot leave any more lasting odors than that from 
handling the traps, also do not leave any foot- 
prints or other signs of human presence. If, in 
summer, a line of traps can be set just before a 
rain, so much the better, as all odors and signs 
of disturbance will be removed by it. In winter 
a light fall of suoav will have a tendency to 
improve the catch, as it will cover all human 
signs and to a great extent, smother the human 
and other odors that may have been left about 
the setting. 

It is important that no lasting, foreign odors 
be allowed to remain on the traps or any of the 
implements used in making the set. The trap- 
per should make it a point at all times to keep 
the traps clean and free from scenes Avhich 
might enable the animals to locate and avoid the 
trap. For the same reason strong smelling 
grease and oils, such as kerosene should never be 
used as preservatives, in fact, we think it best 
that the traps have no preparation Avhatever. 
Some trappers dip the traps in blood but unless 
the entire setting is saturated with same, it is 
not wise to do so as the wolf would be sure to 
locate it. When setting close to a large bait, 
it is Avell to rub the trap and chain with a 
piece of the bait, so that everything about the 
setting will have the same odor, 




Wyoming Wolf Trapper Driving the Trap Stake. 



TRAPPING WOLVES. 121 

The same result may be obtained by covering 
the traps with hair from the animal used for 
bait, or with the contents of the paunch. When 
nesting the traps in sage leaves, as advised else- 
where, the odor of the trap will be greatly 
neutralized by the leaves, as they have a power- 
ful odor. In trail sets on the cattle and sheep 
range, the traps may be covered with the drop- 
pings of tlie animals. All of these methods have 
the same result, namely, that of smothering the 
odor of the trap and allaying the animials' sus- 
picions. 

Just what will be needed for trapping wolves 
and coyotes will depend entirely on circum- 
stances, but mainly on just how much of a busi- 
ness one wishes to make of it. The abundance or 
scarcity of the game, the nature of the country, 
the proximity to civilization and many other 
matters must also be considered. For the aver- 
age professional trapper of the western cattle 
range, we believe the folloAving will be about 
right : In the country lying just east of the 
Rocky Mountain Kange, vegetation is rather 
scanty and as horses must pick their own living, 
they must have plenty of time for doing so, 
therefore, several saddle horses will be needed. 
In that way the trapper can change horses 
daily and give them a chance to rest and rustle 
food. For transporting the outfit and string- 



122 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

ing out the traps, pack horses must be employed. 
Old, worn out horses will answer for packing 
and after the traps are once strung out, they may 
be killed for bait or otherwise disposd of, as one 
of the saddle horses may be used for what little 
packing is needed. The equipment should con- 
sist of a good easy saddle, bridle, pack-saddles, 
pack sacks, saddle blankets, hobbles, picket 
ropes, etc. If one is camping a good camping out- 
fit will be necessary. Such an outfit would consist 
of a tent, blankets, cooking utensils, axe and 
some toilet articles. The average trapper would 
easily handle 100 traps, some trappers have 
many more, and the proper sizes and number 
of each size w^ould depend on the iDroportionate 
number of wolves and coyotes found in that 
locality. The trapper must also have wire for 
fastening traps, stakes, paper for covering, a file 
for sharpening the axe and repairing traps, a 
whetstone, a pair of cutting pliers, a high pow- 
ered rifle and plenty of ammunition, saddle 
scabbard, gun oil, hunting knife, axe sheath, 
etc. Such an outfit is costly, and is only useful 
to the professional trapper, but if game is plen- 
tiful, it will soon pay for itself. 

For the ranchman, sheep herder or average 
western trapper, all that need be purchased is 
an outfit of traps of a number which may be 
conveniently handled, and a rifle with ammuni- 



TRAPPING AVOLVES. 128 

tion for same. All of the outfit that will be 
needed is to be found on any western ranch and 
as the trapper will not be camping out, the 
camp outfit would be omitted. 




CHAPTER X. 

SCENTS AND BAITS. 

CENTS for attracting animals to 
traps liaA^e been employed for many 
years, but trappers differ greatly in 
their views regarding its value. 
Some use scent only, to attract the 
animals, and make good catches; 
others use bait alone and condemn anything in 
the line of scent. Some use neither scent nor 
bait but depend entirely on ''blind sets". 

The value of scent for tr&i^ping wolves and 
coyotes depends on the kind that is used and 
the method employed, the time of year, the sex 
of the animal, whether trapping is prosecuted 
extensively, etc. We have no doubt that if the 
right scent is employed and used in the proper 
way that it will be productive of good results. 
In all probability those who are so ready to 
condemn scents have never used the right kind, 
or having tried the proper kind, have not used it 
in the right way. 

If one will stop to consider just what scent 
is, and the object in using it, he must readily 
perceive its value, if the right kind is used. 
Scents are of various kinds and are expected to 

m 



SCENTS AND BAITS. 125 



appeal to the animal in different ^^•ays. When 
'nfn es bait, it is the och.i- of san.e that attracrs 
the animal from a distance, - why then will not 
a scent which suggests their favorite food also 
prove attractive? All animals of the dog fam^ 
Uv are verv susceptible to food odors and the 
sJme scents will attract both the wolf and coy- 
o"e Then there are other scents which appeal 
t; 'the animal-s passions. The^e t^ill be de- 
Sribed in the following pages. They are e - 
peciallv attractive to the wolf during the mat- 
S season, but are also good at other times, 
,and should be used without bait. 

The habit of depositing urine on the same 
spot used by another for that purpose is char- 
acteristic of all animals of the dog family. This 
L sometimes taken advantage of by the trapper, 
and the wolf urine is used in that way. 

In some parts of the country it is probable 
that one would be more successful by usmgj^ait 
alone; in other places blind sets would be better. 
For manv localities it is best to use a good scent, 
and especially so at certain seasons For trap- 
piu.. grev wolves in summer, it is especially 
valuable as at that time meat baits soon become 
lainted and are not attractive to the animals. 
The United- States Biological Survey have 
made exhaustive tests with scents and the re- 
sult is given in the following: 



126 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

^'Success in trapping depends mainly on the 
use of scents that will attract the wolves to the 
neighborhood of a trap and keep them tramping 
and pawing until caught. Meat bait alone .is of 
little use, for as a rule the wolves kill an ample 
supply for themselves. Many tests of scents, 
both prepared baits and various animal musks, 
have been made with wolves in the field and 
in the National Zoological Park. While some 
have given a fair degree of success, others have 
proved worthless, and no one odor has proved 
entirely satisfactory. Experiments are being 
continued, however, and new odors tried.,'' 

^^Beaver musk (castoreum) and the commer- 
cial perfumery sold as musk have proved effec- 
tive in many cases by causing the wolf to turn 
aside to follow the scented cross line and so 
walk into the trap. Siberian musk (from the 
Siberian musk deer ) is very attractive to Avolves 
in the Zoo. Oil of anise and oil of rhodium 
seem to have no attraction for wild wolves, and 
are scarcely noticed by those in confinement. 
Assafoetida is mildly attractive to wolves and 
coyotes at the Zoo, but used alone is very 
slightly, if at all^ attractive to those on the 
range.'' 

^'Wolf urine taken from the bladder is used 
by some trappers, and is said to be very success- 
ful. It is bottled and kept until rancid and 



SCENTS AND BAITS. 127 

then sprinkled over the trap. The sexual organs 
of the female wolf immersed in the urine are 
said to add efficac}^ to this bait. The urine 
of the female in the rutting season is said to be 
especially attractive to males; it should be used 
in January or February." 

^' Fetid bait. — The bait that has proved most 
effective may be called, for lack of a better name, 
fetid bait, because of its offensive odor. It has 
been long in use in variously modified forms by 
the most successful wolf trappers, and its prep- 
aration is usually guarded as a profound secret. 
It cannot be credited to any one trapper, since 
no two prepare it in just the same way, but in 
most cases its fundamental odors are the same. 
It may be prepared as follows : 

^Tlace half a pound of raw beef or venison in 
a wide-mouthed bottle and let it stand in a warm 
place (but never in the sun) from two to six 
weeks or longer or until it is thoroughl}^ decayed 
and the odor has become as offensive as possible. 
If the weather is not very warm this may re- 
quire several months. When decomposition has 
reached the proper stage, add a quart of sperm 
oil or some liquid animal oil. Lard oil may be 
used, but prairie dog oil is better. Add half 
an. ounce of assafoetida, dissolved in alcohol 
and one ounce of tincture of Siberian musk, or, 
if this cannot be procured, one ounce of pulver- 



128 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

ized beaver castor or one ounce of the common 
musk sold for perfumery. Mix thoroughly and 
bottle securely until used." 

The government has introduced this scent 
into Northern Michigan where it has been used 
successfully. Other very similar decoys are 
used extensively by Western trappers. 

A scent which is highly recommended, and is 
used successfully by some Wyoming wolf and 
coyote trajDpers is made by chopping fine, equal 
portions of raw beef and fish and allowing same 
to decay in a covered vessel. Aft^r it is thor- 
oughly decomposed, add an ounce of assafoetida 
dissolved in alcohol to each pound of the decoy. 
Animal matter of any kind should never be 
allowed to decay in a tightly closed vessel, as 
the gases may cause it to burst, but it must be 
covered so as to exclude the flies. The above 
scent is claimed to be very attractive to both 
wolves and coyotes and we know that the trap- 
pers who used it made large catches, one of them 
having captured over 200 coyotes in a single sea- 
son. This trapper states that if the perfume 
of the skunk is added to the decoy, its attrac- 
tive properties are greatly increased. This scent 
may be used in connection with bait, or with- 
out, as preferred. 

One of the northern trappers recommends a 
scent made by chopping fine, equal parts of rab- 



SCENTS AND BAITS. 129 

bit, skunk and muskrat flesh, with a couple of 
wild mice added, and allow to decay in a jar. 
The jar should be about f full and after it is 
decomposed a half ounce oil of anise and a quan- 
tity of skunk scent is added, and the jar filled 
with goose oil. This is the recipe as given but 
we can not guarantee it to be attractive. 

Many of the old time trappers claim to have 
scents which will draw a wolf or coj^ote a half 
mile, or more, to the trap. Those who make 
such statements should always be regarded with 
distrust for the chances are that they only wish 
to sell the scent or the formula. In nine cases 
out of ten it will be found that the scents are 
worthless. One of our old time friends w^rote 
as follows: 

*^I have tried several so-called patent decoys 
with very indifferent results. The only scent I 
care to use is the urine from a female wolf or 
coyote killed in runong season ; sprinkle a drop 
or two on bush, stone or ground near traps, but 
not on bait. After catching one coyote at a 
setting I never trouble to bait again as the urine 
and droppings will serve to attract other coyotes 
better than any bait. Have caught 6 at one set- 
ting, 5 of them with no other bait than the smell 
of the ground defiled by previous coyotes. They 
will come a long way to scratch and urinate on 

9 



130 WOLF AND QOYOTE TRAPPING. 

same spot, and seem to lose som^ of their 
caution." 

Another successful trapper makes practically 
the same statements and his views are appended. 

*'After catching one wolf or coyote do not use 
more bait as the scent is strong enough to draw 
all that comes near. I do not use any patent 
decoy or scents, as I consider them useless for 
any game. The only scent I use is what I make 
myself and then only from February to April. 
In the summer I gather up four or five bitch 
d(.gs and as fast as they come in heat I kill them 
and take the organs of generation and pickle 
them in wide mouth bottles with alcohol enough 
to cover. I sprinkle a few drops on a stone or 
bush, stick in center between traps but use no 
other bait. This is also good for fox. 

^^The above method is the same as I learned it 
from an old Hudson's Bay trapper, Peirre Dev- 
erany, who was born in 1817, and had trapped all 
thru the British possessions and the Rocky 
Mountains and Avith whom I trapped for several 
years.'' 

We find that many of the professional trap- 
pers condemn all scents except those which they, 
themselves, use, but as there are a number of 
successful ones using different scents it proves 
that there are numbers of good decoys. 

*^I use scent a good deal^ but make it my- 



SCENTS AND BAITS. 131 

self/' writes one man who follows trapping con- 
tinually. ^^The mating time is the best time to 
use it and the matrix from a female wolf in 
alcohol is very good to use. Put a few drops 
on a bone or stick of wood near the trap, say 
ten or twenty inches from it. If you have two 
traps set near each other, put the scent between 
them.'' 

With regard to bait the grey wolf prefers 
horse flesh to beef. Colts are also preferred to 
old horses. It is the same as regards cattle; 
the calves and yearlings are invariably chosen. 
In the timbered sections where there is very lit- 
tle stock for the wolves to i^rey on, venison is 
perhaps the best bait. Antelope, jack rabbit, 
and in fact, almost any kind of flesh is good 
if the wolf is hungry, but the bait in all cases 
must be strictly fresh. Unless food is scarce, 
wolves seldom return to the carcass of a victim, 
but they do so occasionally and some are caught 
by setting traps in such j)laces, especially in the 
North, during winter when the animals are 
hungry. If possible they prefer to kill their 
own game and it is that Avhich makes the trap- 
ping so difficult. 

The same baits that are recommended for 
wolves are also good for coyotes, but the coyote 
is not so particular regarding the condition of 
its food and will eat tainted flesh, greedily. 



132 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

They are very fond of mutton, prairie dogs, 
badgers and sage liens. As Avith the wolf, horse 
flesh is a favorite food. One of the southwest- 
ern trai^pers claims that they like fresh pork, in 
his section, better than any other food. 

It will be an easy matter in almost any part » 
of the country to keep the traps baited as the 
ranchmen and sheepmen are, as a rule, willing 
to furnish animals for bait. As a general rule, 
we advise the use of scent sets and blind sets in 
spring and summer and bait sets in fall and 
winter. 




CHAPTER XI. 

SCENT METHODS. 

N sections where the wolves and coy- 
otes can obtain an abundance of food, 
they do not care for meat bait and 
scent sets are recommended, especially 
for grey wolves. Such sets are also 
snccessfnl in^ summer when meat baits soon be- 
come tainted and lose all power of attraction. 
There are many ways of using scent, depend- 
ino- much on the kind that is used, and also 
on^'other things. One of the simplest as well as 
one of the best is the following: 

Having found the route of travel of a band 
of wolves, one may be certain that he has found 
the proper place to set a number of traps, for the 
wolves are sure to comfe around that way again. 
A pass throuoh the hills is an excellent place 
and as cattle, slieep and game animals are almost 
certain to be traveling that way at certain sea- 
sons, one is sure to find a trail of some sort 
traversing- the pass. Having located such a trail 
find a spot where same is well defined and select 
a place for the trap, several feet to one side of 
the trail, where it may be placed between 
bunches of brush, cactus, rocks or any other ob- 

133 



134 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

struction that will guide the wolf over the trap. 
The bbstructio'Q must be a natural one as the 
wolf is certain to detect any artificial arrange- 
ment, and avoid it. 

The trap should be fastened to a drag of some 
kind, wliich should be buried and the trap must 
be set and covered as explained in another chap- 
ter. In setting, the chain should be stretched 
out to its full length so that the drag may be 
buried as far as possible from the trap, and the 
disturbance of the soil is less likely to be no- 
ticed. The scent should be applied to the grass, 
weeds or ground at the back of the set, and so 
placed that in trying to reach it, the wolf or coy- 
ote must walk over the trap. It should not be 
placed too near tlie trap as the first impulse of 
the animal is to roll over the scent. 

Mr. Vernon Bailey in his instructions for 
trapping describes this set as follows : 

"The trap, chain and stone drag should be 
buried out of sight close to a runway, where the 
wolves follow a trail or road, cross a narrow 
pass, or visit a carcass, with the trap nearest 
the runway and flush with the surface of the 
ground; to keep th^ eartli from clogging under 
the pan, the pan and jaws should be covered 
with an oval piece of paper and over this should 
be sprinkled fine earth until the surface is smooth 
and all traces of paper and trap are concealed. 



SCENT METHODS. 135, 

The surface of the ground and the surroundings 
should appear as nearly as possible undisturbed. 
The dust may be made to look natural again, by 
sprinkling water on it. Touching the ground 
or other objects with the hands, spitting near 
the trap or in any way leaving a trace of human 
odors near by, should be avoided. Old, well- 
scented gloves should be worn while setting 
traps, and a little of the scent used for the traps 
should be rubbed on the shoe soles. A piece of 
old cowhide may be used on which to stand and 
to place the loose earth in burying drag and 
trap. 

"A narrow trail may be made by dragging 
the stone or scraping the foot from across the 
runway to the trap. A slender line of scent 
should l)e scattered along this drag mark or 
cross trail and more of the scent placed around 
the trap and 6 inches beyond it, so that the wolf 
Avill follow the line directly across the trap, stop- 
ping with its front feet u^^on it. With old, 
experienced and suspicious wolves, however, it 
is better not to make the drag mark, but to set 
the trap with great care, close to the side of the 
trail and put the scent just beyond it. If pos- 
sible, place the trap between two tufts of grass 
or weeds, so that it can be readily approached 
from one side only." 

Traps may also be set with bait and some 




Caught in a Scent Set. 



SCENT METHODS. 137 

scent used to advantage, in fact many of the 
deco3'S are to be used in that way. Two brothers 
who trap in partnership give the following meth- 
od of trapping with scent and bait : 

"This is one way of catcliing coyotes : We 
find all the horse meat we can, Ave even ask 
people if they know of any dead horses, or sheep 
or cattle. But the horse flesh is the best bait 
for them, then comes the sheep, that the^^ like 
almost as well. Rabbits are also excellent bait 
for them, by putting a little pucky for scent 
along the side of the rabbit bait. We also tell 
how to make this ^puck3^' 

^^Secure all the small fish you can from three 
to four inches long. Trout is tlie best if you can 
secure them, but other varieties of fish will do; 
clean but leave the heads on, because you will 
find more oil in the head than in any other part. 
Cut them up so they will go into a bottle ; stuff 
them in very tight, up to the neck of the bottle; 
then put a thin cheese cloth over the top of the 
bottle and let it stay there for about two weeks. 
It will begin to Avork good about that time, 
then cork it up tight, and in a few days it is 
ready for use. 

"Now, taking the horse meat, sheep or rab- 
bits, you have for bait, find a good place to lay 
the bait so the coyotes cannot get to it from 
all sides. Never make your trap stationary 



138 



WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 



but wire the chain to a small log, a stick of wood 
about four feet long and three inches thick, leave 
a few knots sticking out on the log, and they will 
help tire the coyote out, by digging in the 
ground; wire the chain about in the middle, as 
it will drag harder for the coyote. 

"Now dig a hole the same shape of your trap, 
where you want it to set, also bury the clog. Put 




Traps Set with Bait and Scent. 

your trap in its place and have it so it will be 
about one-fourth of an inch below the surface of 
the ground, not au}^ lower. Put a piece of wool 
under the pan so birds and rabbits won't spring- 
it ; then take a piece of paper big enough to cover 
the jaws of fhe trap, take some dirt and put over 
the paper until level with the surrounding 
place, if anything a little sunken, just so you 



SCENT METHODS. 139 

can notice it. Now set your trap about the length 
of the coyote from the bait and one more a 
little farther out, both in the same way as I said. 
Be sure and put your bait in such a place as to 
make them come around in front. 

'^If you have to set traps at a dead horse 
out in tiie open, put one just behind the hips, and 
one in between his feet where he lays. Set them 
as I have told you and you will get them. If 
you find a dead animal, that is, bait, I mean, also 
set your traps in triangle around him. Put 
your traps about one foot and a half from bait. 
htudj them carefully and you will soon learn 
to set right. Try it. 

"Some trappers say, tlon't let the traps touch 
your clothes, smoke and bury your gloves; and 
even say bury your shoes after each trip. We 
think all of this unnecessary for we tie our traps 
around us, wear warm German socks and over- 
shoes, just as everybody else should do in winter. 
Set our traps with our gloves on or off, . don't 
matter; when through, brush over with a small 
brush and leave it. Don't make any more tracks 
around your traps than possible. We made one 
freak of a catch, two coyotes at one setting in one 
night. One had a stub foot having been caught 
before." 

A very good method is to tind a large clump 
of cactus (prickly pear) with even, well defined 



140 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

edges, and set several traps near the edge and at 
varying distances. Use all possible care in set- 
ting, folloAving the instructions given elsewhere. 
It is best to leave the setting some three or four 
days before placing the scent; that will give 
plenty of time for the human and other scents, 
that have been left there, to pass away and the 
ground Avhich has been disturbed, will have taken 
on a smoother appearance by that time. Then go 
on horseback and saturating a lump of earth with 
the decoy, drop it in the center of the cactus 
bed. Do not dismount from the horse when 
placing the decoy. This is an exceptionally good 
set for coyotes. While they can not reach the 
scent, they will walk all around the cactus bed 
and are almost certain to step- in' one of the 
traps. 

Another successful mode of setting is to place 
the trap in a trail where it leads through a clump 
of sage or greasewood and put some decoy by the 
side of the trail a rod or two away. The bank 
set which is described in another chapter may 
also be used without bait by placing some scent 
on the edge of the bank. 

One of the Montana trappers uses this meth- 
od : ''Take your traps and boil them in lye 
water. Do not handle them with your bare 
hands but be sure and use clean buckskin gloves, 
and handle them as little as possible. Find a 



SCENT METHODS. 



141 



place where they run pretty regular, like an old 
road that is not used or a cow path or trail. 
Find a place that is sandy if you can, and set 
your traps lengthwise with the trail. Of course, 
you must dig out where you put your traps. 

^'Now cover your traps with a piece of de- 
odorized paper and about one-half inch of sand. 
Get some water and sprinkle along the trail and 
over your traps to make it all look alike. You 
must not leave a lot of loose and lumpy dirt lying 
near your traps. Leave as little sign as possible. 
Wait two days before you go there again, and 
then go with a saddle horse and drop six or eight 
drops of good scent bait between your traps, 
and await results. Do not get off your horse 
when you go to put out the scent bait, for I 
know of no animal that is any more sly than the 
old grey wolf. 

"Now I don't claim that this will work m all 
localities, but I have had fairly good luck with 
this set. I always use two traps at a setting 
for wolf or coyote.'^ 



CHAPTER XII. 



BAIT METHODS FOR WOLVES 




^^.^ 



ANY of the sets used for coyotes 
are equally good for grej wolves, 
providing that one uses a trap suf- 
ficiently strong to hold them and 
almost any set that Avill catch the 
wolf is good also for the coyote, 
but there are some which are espe- 
cially good for the grey wolf and 
we give here some of these methods. 

One of the most successful is the following: 
Somewhere on the wolf's route of travel find 
an unused trail and selecting a well defined 
portion, set two traps close together as shoAvn 
in the diagram. Have the jaws of the traps 
parallel with the trail so that there will be no 
possibility of the wolf's foot being thrown out 
by the rising jaws, and so arrange them that 
the pans Avill be about tAvelve or fourteen inches 
apart. The traps must be attached to drags of 
som,e sort, stones or iron drags, Avhich must be 
buried, along with the traps. Great care should 
be used in setting so as to leave cA^erything 
as nearly like it was before as possible. No 
loose dirt should be left lying about, and no 

142 



BAIT METHODS FOR WOLVES. 



143 



tracks or signs of human presence should remain 
about the setting. . 

Two more traps should be set m a similar 
manner, somewhere on the trail, and from fifty 
to one hundred yards from the first two. The 
traps should be left setting some four or fiVe 
days before placing the bait. This will allow 
all foreign odors to pass away from the setting. 




Trail Bait Set. 

A large bait should then be placed midway be- 
tween the two settings, and close beside the 

trail. 1 -^ 4-1 

On approaching or leaving the bait tne 
wolves are almost certain to walk on the trail, 
and while they view all signs of disturbance 
near the bait with suspicion, they will be less 
cautious some distance away. In other words 
they will not be expecting danger so far away 
from the bait. 



144 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

When looking at the traps, one sliould go on 
horseback and avoid dismounting near tlie traps 
or bait. In placing the bait one shonkl, if pos- 
sible, go on a ^\ agon, or if more convenient, on a 
horse, and should drop the bait in place without 
stepping down on to the ground. 

If desired a single trap may be used at each 
setting but as the length of step of the timber 
wolf is from eighteen to twenty-four inches, it 
is better to use two traps, for the wolf is likely 
to miss a single traj^. The method will be found 
to work well in all localities and is as good for 
coyotes as for wolves. 

Another ver^^ popular mode of trapping the 
grey wolf is with what is knoAvn as the square 
setting. This set requires four traps and they 
are arranged in the form of a square. 

On a smooth sandy spot of ground, dig a 
hole about six inches deep and having attached 
the chains of all four traps to the stake, drive 
it in the hole until the top is below the surface 
of the ground. The traps should have the regu- 
lar short chains and they should be arranged in 
the form of a square each about twenty inches 
from the stake. The traps must be bedded down, 
or in other words, they should be set in holes 
dug for the purpose as iDreviousl}^ described and 
should be neatly covered. A narrow trench 
should be made for each chain and they must be 



BAIT METHODS FOR WOLVES. 



145 



i. 



A 



^. 






vvV •i'S^i 



^:^ 




covered also, so as to leave no sign. The bait 
should be fastened «itli ^vil•e to the top of the 
trap stake and the hollow beneath it may be 
filled with sand. The wire must not be visible 
and if a bird, rabbit or any small creature is 
used for bait, it must not be skinned or muti- 
lated. When baiting with a piece of beef mutton 

horse-nesli or tne 
flesh of any large 
animal, it is best 
also to leave the 
skin on, as a skin- 
ned bait is likely 
to make the ani- 
mals suspicions. 

If the animal's 

suspicions are not 

aroused, it will 

approach the set 

u n s u s p ectingly 

and attempt to 

raise the bait, but when it finds it fast, it will 

step around some and is almost certain to step 

into a trap. It will be very likely also to land 

in another trap after it commences to struggle, 

and there will be very little danger of it es- 

""^^Many of the trappers who use this method 
use only three traps at a setting and arrange 
10 



Wh 






The Square Setting. 



146 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAt»PING}. 

them in the form of a triangle. This is good 
but we believe that the use of four traps will 
give better results. 

One trapper fastened his traps to iron pins, 
about' 10 inches in length, and used this pin as 
a stake. The captured animal could easily pull 
up the stake but the entire bunch of traps would 
act as a drag, and it could not go far through 
the sage brush without getting fastened up. 

One of the best methods for both the timber 
wolf and the coyote is what is known to trap- 
pers as the ^'cut bank set." All over the western 
country, along the water courses and wash-outs, 
will be found straight cut banks, sometimes 
overhanging. Select such a bank from 5 to 7 
feet high, and if you can find two bunches of 
cactus, about 16 or 18 inches apart, on the top 
of the bank, this is the place to set the trap. 
If the cactus can not be found growing this way, 
place some there, being very careful to give it a 
natural appearance, so that it will look as if it 
had grown there. 

The trap should be staked the length of the 
chain from the edge of the bank, and the stake 
driven out of sight. Set the trap about 20 
inches from the .bank, if for coyotes, and about 
26 inches, if wolves are expected, and directly be- 
tween the two bunches of cactus. Cover the trap 
nicely as per instructions on a preceding page, 





'^1 



Coyote Caught at a Bank Set. 



147 



148 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

and fasten the bait between the cactus, on the 
very edge of the bank. When properly set, the 
aminal can not reach the bait without stepping 
on tlie trap. When caught it immediately leaps 
over the bank, and as it can not get back, will be 
unable to make use of its strength in struggling, 
and will seldom escape. Another thing that 
speaks Avell for this method is the fact that the 
fur of the captured animal is always clean, which 
is more than can be said of those which are 
caught in traps set and staked on level ground, 
where they can struggle and roll in the dirt for 
hours, and sometimes days. 

Mr. Ira W. Bull, official hunter for the U. S. 
Department of Agriculture, and now located on 
one of the Colorado forest reserves, writes as 
folloAvs : 

^'It would be hard to make an estimate of 
the number of coyotes and wolves in this section, 
especially coyotes, as there are so many of them 
and they seem to be getting more numerous every 
3^ear. There are not so many grey wolves, but 
still, enough to do a lot of mischief, as they 
kill stock and move on, hardly ever coming back 
to the carcass for the second meal. 

"My method of trapping varies according to 
conditions and time of year. When I set with 
small baits, I first select a smooth open place, 
and cut a hole in the soil the size and shape of 



BAIT METHODS FOR WOLVES. ' 149 

the trap. I set the trap in the hole and cover 
carefully, fastening to a stake or toggle, conceal- 
ing by covering with dirt. I cut the bait in 
small pieces, probably 40 or 50 in number, and 
scatter around the trap, leaving everything look- 
ing as natural as possible. With a large bait, 
say the whole or half the carcass of a horse or 
other large animal, I set the trap in the same 
way, but use 2 or 3 or even 4 traps at the one 
bait.'' 

An old time trapper writes as follows : "Water- 
sets are the best for wolves if the animals are 
cunning. The proper way to make them is to 
take a boat — don't walk along the bank but 
simply load your boat with lots of bait, such as 
beef head, shanks, entrails, or sheep that have 
died or have been killed by wolves. Start down 
the stream, looking for small sand or gravel 
bars lying just above the water and a few feet 
long. ^ When one of these is fonnd, run your 
boat up to it and leave a beef head, a quarter of 
mutton or such like, and then proceed on down 
to the next bar and bait it in the same way, 
keeping on in that way until the bait is gone. 

"The wolf is very bait shy. It will take bait 
that it finds along streams more readily than on 
land. In a few nights after placing your bait, 
you will find that the wolves are working on it 
and have made trails down the bank of the 



150 



WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 



stream to the edge of the water. You will ob- 
serve that they all take the water at the same 
place. 

"Now load your boat witli plenty of bait as 
before, but this time take also a good supply 
of traps, the proper size for wolves, and a sup- 
ply of clogs similar to fence posts. When you 
come to the bar, supply it again with bait. 



TfiA/L -^ ^^ 



efiusH 

==" COA/CCA L INC 
^r CLOC 



<U^.. 




Wolf Water Set. 



Fasten your trap to a clog, set the trap at the 
edge of the water in the trail and allow the 
clog to lie the full length of the chain, down- 
stream in the brush. Splash water on the clog 
to wash it, and also on any brush you touch. 
Continue thus at the baited places, and you will 
be surprised at your catch, if you have never 
trapped that way. 

"As for wolves getting scare in the West, 
there are some places where the large wolves 



BAIT METHODS FOR WOLVES. 151 

are decreasing. Tlie coyote is becoming more 
plentiful every year. They are the worst of the 
two among sheep and small calves and colts. 
The sheep men on the desert are paying |40.00 
per month to the trappers in eastern Oregon for 
wolves, besides boarding them and allowing 
them to keep the pelts. Some trappers are mak- 
ing as much as |150.00 per month. It is almost 
impossible to poison wolves in this country, but 
I can trap them successfully several ways." 

One of tlie Minnesota trappers gives the fol- 
lowing experience : ^'In the fall a man brought 
an old horse to give us for chicken feed, and 
after butchering it, we hauled the insides, head 
and feet out into the field along with some 
manure. After a few days we found that wolves 
were eating it, so when we butchered the next 
one, we dragged the insides around and put 
them in a little guUey and spread manure 
around ; then set tw^o traps, No, 3 Newhouse on 
both sides of the gulley and three traps down 
in the gulley near the bait. 

"We set these traps on Monday, and on next 
Thursday father saw a fox running awa}^ from 
the traps, and found it had sprung one without 
getting caught. I think 4 or 5 wolves came 
around on Friday night, but they didn't get 
caught either. I moved one of the No. 3's nearer 
the bait, and on Friday father bought two No, 



152 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

2^ Newhouse otter traps. One of these we set 
where the No. 3 had been, and the other about 
six rods west of the guUej. We set the two No. 
2^ on Saturday morning. On Sunday morning on 
our way to church, we drove by the traps and 
found a wolf in the new No. 2^ and a red fox 
in the No. 3 that I had moved up near the bait. 
These two traps were not over ten feet apart. 
On skinning the fox we found marks as if he 
had been bitten. It weighed 8J pounds and the 
wolf weighed 34 pounds. 

^The wolves kept coming every other day. 
The next Friday we found another wolf in the 
same trap that the fox was caught in. On Fri- 
day of the next Aveek we had another wolf in 
the No. 2 trap. On the next Thursday there 
was a wolf caught in the other No. 2^ otter trap 
which was set six rods from the gulley, and 
that was the last one we caught up to February 
15th. They don't seem to come around here 
now." 

A Wyoming trapper submits the following: 
"I send you herewith a photo of a female grey 
wolf which I trapped in the spring of 1908 ; this 
wolf weighed 62 pounds. I caught her in a 
No. 4 trap, and when I got to within thirty 
yards of her I shot her with my 33 Special 
Winchester. 

"The grey wolf is a powerful animal, and if 



BAIT METHODS FOR WOLVES. 153 

a person goes too near them when they are in a 
trap they are apt to escape, and another thing, 
their feet are so large that a trap generally 
catches them by the toes. It is nothing uncom- 
mon for a single gre}^ wolf to destroy |1,000 
worth of stock in a year. This one that I trapped 
would have in a few weeks produced 12 cubs; 
just think of the damage which these thirteen 
wolves could have done. 

"The grey wolf is hard to trap on account of 
being so powerful; they can kill a large steer or 
other ranch stock, in the shape of horses or 
cattle, and they like their meat fresh. I had 
fifty traps out and trapped 17 or 18 coyotes and 
several skunk while I was trying to catch this 
wolf. 

"Here is the set I use: Find where the 
wolves have killed something or an old carcass, 
or find a trail that they are in the habit of using, 
for it is the habit of wolves to smell around 
anything they may find dead, and scratch around 
the same. Dig holes to fit the jaws and springs 
of your traps, put a wad of paper or wool under 
the pan of trap, and cover the entire jaws of 
traps with a piece of paper; then cover over the 
trap and chain with fine dry horse or cow nanure, 
so that the covering will be level with the top 
of the ground, and make everything look as nat- 
ural as possible.'' 



154 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

'^The accompanying photograph shows a 
wolf that I caught a few years ago and this is 
the way I caught it/- writes one of the Wiscon- 
sin trappers. ^'First, I took the insides and 
stuff from a hog and phiced it in a clover field 
and set three No. 4 Hawley & Norton traps 




A Trapped Wolf. 

around it, coyering nicelj^ with clover leaves, 
chaff, etc., but I guess I must have been a little 
careless, as a hungry wolf came along, ate Avhat 
he wanted and scattered the rest of it around 
without springing the traps ; so I thought I would 
teach him how to do that trick over again, and 



BAIT METHODS FOR WOLVES. 155 

I took 4 more traps, making 7 in all, fastened one 
trap chain to the next trap, and. in this way 
strung them out around the bait, fastening the 
whole to a logging chain that I had concealed 
under some clover seed hscy. 

^'Then I covered eveiything very carefully 
with clover leaves, chaff, etc., and also some of 
the food out of the hog's stomach, as this food 
was smelling very sour by this time. I will also 
add that some of these traps were brand new, 
while some of them were very rusty, so I took 
first a ncAv trap and then a rust}' one, and set 
them alternately around the bait, thinking that 
this arrangement, together with the sour smell 
of the food, would confuse his nose a little, and 
I think it did, at any rate, in about a Aveek he 
came back and got tangled up. He was caught 
only in one trap as his first jump would, of 
course, pull ail the other traps out of position. 

^'He was a sorry looking specimen of a wolf, 
mixed up in all this hardware (seven big No. 4 
Hawley & Norton traps and one logging chain), 
but we will have to excuse him as he ^'didn't 
know it was loaded. '' The best way is to fasten 
every trap separately, as in this Avay he may 
get caught in several traps, or more than -one 
might happen to get caught at the same time, 
while if they hang together, he will not be likely 
to get caught in more than one trap, as in his 



156 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

first desperate struggle to escape he will pull 
the others out of position. 

"I suppose it will make some of the old 'war 
horses' laugh to see that it takes seven traps at 
one bait to catch a wolf. This is the only time 
1 have had as many as seven traps hand}^, so I 
thought I would fix him plenty. I generally 
use from one to three traps for each set, depend- 
ing on surrounding conditions." 

In addition to the trapping methods given in 
the preceding pages, there are many others 
used in the various sections of the country and 
all of them have some good points. 

All trappers make, it a point to set a number 
of traps about the carcass of any animal that 
has been killed by wolves, also animals that 
have met death through other sources. The 
trouble is that in open ground it requires so 
many traps to guard a large bait, and also the 
wolves become very wary and refuse to approach 
a large bait after one or two have been caught 
there. 

For these reasons some trappers set their 
traps some distance away from the carcass, using 
small baits, and so placing the trap among 
clumps of brush and other natural objects that 
the wolf can only reach the bait by walking 
over the trap. Others set their traps without 
bait on any trails that may be found in the 



BAIT METHODS FOR WOLVES. 157 

vicinity of the carcass, trusting that the animals 
will follow these paths when visiting the bait. 

Some recommend dragging a large piece of 
bloody meat by tying to tlie horn of the saddle 
with a rope and setting traps without bait in 
the trail. Others set the traps in the same way 
and scatter small pieces of fresh bait all about. 

Another style of setting which is sometimes 
used is to bury a good sized bait in a trail 
and set a trap on each side of the buried bait. 
All of these methods Avill give good results 
at times but one should never confine himself to 
any one method, as the animal will soon learn 
his tricks and refuse to have his toes pinched. 
It is wise also when using baits or scents to lo- 
cate the set to the Avindward side of the animals 
probable course of travel as all animals can 
scent a bait at a much greater distance when 
passing to the leeward. 

No matter what method is used, one must be 
a hustler and persevering. One can not possibly 
make a great success of wolf trapping unless he 
uses a large number of traps, and keeps them 
in working order and well baited. 




CHAPTER XIII. 

SOUTHERN BAIT METHODS FOR COYOTES. 

F there itre many methods of trapping 
the wolf, there are still more for 
catching the coyote, for it is a far 
more common animal, and while its 
range is over a smaller area of coun- 
try, it is found in far greater num- 
bers than the grey or timber wolf. 

If there is any difference between the two^ 
the coyote is more cunning and wary than the 
wolf, but the fact that wolves do not care for 
dead bait and the proportionately small number 
of the animals makes the capture of them more 
difficult and the catch very much lighter. All 
of the methods given for the grey wolf are good 
for the coyote, and in addition we give here the- 
methods of various others, from all parts of the 
Southwest. The first is from Mr. Vasma Brown 
a noted coyote trapper of Texas. 

"In the season of 1903-04, I commenced trap- 
ping about November 25th, and stopped about 
March 1st. I used seven No. 2 Victor traps, but 
consider No. 4 a better size. In the ninety-six 
nights that I trapped, I caught 182 coyotes, 4 
skunk, 12 opossum, 3 coons and 12 cats. I only 

158 



NORTHERN BAIT METHODS FOR COYOTES. 159 



trapped for coyotes, but these other animals 
came along and got caught. Had I been trap- 
ping for skunk, opossum and wild cat, I would 
have caught about 200 of each, but their pelts 
were not worth more than 10 cents each." 




A Trapped Texas Coyote. 



"I took a piece of fresh meat and dragged it 
along a trail for about a mile. About every two 
hundred yards I set a trap. I scratched a hole 
in the ground just the size of the trap, put 
it in the hole and covered it up with a piece of 
paper and sprinkled dirt or sand upon it en- 



160 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING 

tirely concealing it. For bait, I cut some little 
pieces of meat and put about six or eight around 
the tra]3 ^and then went on and set my other 
traps. I never failed to find two or three coy- 
otes in my traps. My biggest catch in one night 
was six coyotes and one coon. I never use any 
scent. Fresh pork is the best scent that a per- 
son can use. I tie my traps to a log or a piece 
of brush.'' 

^'In the spring of the 3'ear, I have many 
calves and some hogs killed and eaten by coy- 
otes. A calf about six months old, is the finest 
kind of bait for a coyote. A few years ^ ago I 
saw a coyote kill a calf and as soon as I could, 
I put a 38 Winchester bullet through him. As 
many coyotes as I have caught in steel traps, I 
have never had one dig up my trap. They are 
very easily caught.'' 

^'In the winter of 1903 and 1904, I raced with 
a friend of mine catching coyotes. Our trap- 
ping places were about five miles apart, and 
there were just as many coyotes on his place as 
mine. I used seven No. 2 and he used nine No. 
3 traps. He also used scent and I used none. 
When the day came to count and see who had the 
most hides, I had the most by one hundred and 
three coyotes, besides twenty-one other hides. 
He used scent and the animals were not very 
hungry. The scent they found on a suspicious 



SOUTHERN BAIT METHODS FOR COYOTES. 161 

place, made them shy, because they could not 
see what it was.'- 

''If you will all think about it, it is plain 
enough. If an animal is hungry and sees a bait 
he is going to eat it whether it looks susjDicious 
or not; and if not hungry and he sees a trap 
with bait, especially if he has ever been caught 
and gotten awa^, he will not botlier it. The 
slyest of all animals have been caught in the 
most simple way a trap could be set, because 
they Avere hungry. My brother and I used to, 
and do now, catch coyotes at the carcass of a 
dead animal with our traps as unconcealed as 
you can set them. We always have had good 
success. We catch about one-third of ' what 
comes around.'' 

*'In the fall of 1895, my brother found the 
carcass of a dead horse. He set three No. 3 
Newhouse traps at the carcass, and when it 
was all consumed, he had tliirty-six coyote hides. 
His traps were set on the ground. A person 
could see them on the top of the ground at one 
hundred yards distance. The coyotes were very 
hungry and they cared for nothing but the flesh 
of the dead horse. Thej stepped everywhere, 
and on and in everything. Hunger makes an 
animal easy to capture.'' 

The ease with which the coyote of the South- 
west may be captured only goes to prove our 

11 



162 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

statement in a previous ^chapter, that there is 
a great difference in the nature of tlie animals 
found in widely removed localities. It is certain 
that the coyotes of the Northwest could not be 
captured in uncovered traps. There is also, as 
will be noted, a great diversity of opinion re- 
garding the value of scent. In parts of the coun- 
try Avhere the animals take bait well, scent is 
seldom used and would not be as successful as 
in other parts. 

'^I trap on a small scale, but enjoy it more 
than any other occupation,'' writes a New Mex- 
ico trapper. "I intend trapping on a large scale 
next winter. It is mostly skunks, coyotes, bad- 
ger and occasionally a fox and coon." 

^'Some of the brother trappers complained 
of wolves being hard to catch. There are very 
few here, but I can catch a coyote almost as 
easy as a skunk. I have caught lots of them. 
The best place to set the traps is on loose plowed 
ground or a sand bed, or anywhere you can con- 
ceal the trap so another person couldn't locate 
exactly where it is set. A cow trail is good. 
Setting it in grass is no good. 

"I dig out a place in the ground just the 
size of the trap, and so the pan will be one-fourth 
of an' inch below level, then set trap, put in 
place, take a piece of stiff paper (not too stiff), 
large enough to cover jaws, and place over jaws ; 



SOUTHERN 15 AIT METHODS FOR COYOTES. 163 

then cover one-fourth inch with fine loose dirt. 
Brush the ground down smooth so it will ail 
look alike. It is best to have two or three traps 
set at one setting, so you will catch him by 
more than one foot. When caught by one foot, 
they will soon sever their leg by jerking and 
twisting." 

"Another pointer, when you catch a coyote 
at a setting, don't move 3'Our traps away, bat 
set back in the same place, for the more you 
catch at a setting the better chances you have 
to catch more. I've caught six coyotes in one 
setting within the last two weeks. That isn't 
extra good but they are scarce here." 

"By all means, don't pile up brush, stones, 
etc., around your traps Avhen trapping for coy- 
ote. It doesn't make an}- difference how much 
the coyote scratches up the dirt, others will 
come back to the same place. I use most any 
kind of meat, such as rabbit, chicken and some- 
times a coyote carcass until I catch one; then 
I seldom use any bait, for the scent left by the 
one caught attracts others." 

Another trapper from Texas, Avrites, "In 
trai)ping for coyotes, there are three lines to be 
looked after with the eye of experience, viz: 
The where and the how of setting, and the bait. 
Beds should always be located between either 
hiding or feeding districts. In passing from 



164 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

one to another of these districts, coyotes follow 
in the main, the same route, and the experienced 
eje can soon locate a good place for a trap bed. 
These spots may be far apart or they may be 
near eacli other. The past season I had two 
not more tlian three yards apart. Failing to 
get such a location, the trapper traps by chance 
and catches by accident. After a rain the trap 
bed should be torn up and sunned awhile. Fresh 
sign is suspicious. Four traps make a good bed, 
but I seldom use more than two. Traps and 
chains must be well hidden and the ground left 
as level as would seem natural." 

^'If the traps are so fastened as to hold the 
animal to the spot, that bed is lost for that 
season. I prefer small pieces of Avorn out 
machinery, rustj^ iron, weighing ten or fifteen 
pounds for clogs. TJien comes the most impor- 
tant matter of all — bait. In this I have 
deviated from anything I have ever noticed in 
guides. I use unrendered beef fat. Leaf fat 
is good, but I prefer wlmt is commonly called 
gut fat. If taken off Avithout too much care, 
it is best. Hung up and dried it lasts indefi- 
nitely. This dried article I cut up in pieces 
from tlie size of a pea to the size of the end 
of my thumb, the smaller the better, and scatter 
around OAcr the trap bed, say 10 feet square. 
If the bed is in short grass, this baiting is 



SOUTHERN BAIT METHODS FOR COYOTES. 165 

better. The bait must be carried in a bag for 
the purpose, and must not be touched, in any 
case, until the traps are set. With traps well 
disinfected this is the slickest cheat I have ever 
seen worked on a coyote." 

Some of the northern trappers will probably 
smile Avhen they read of the following set, but 
the fact that it is used extensively in the South, 
proves that it is a good one for that part. It 
was contributed by one of the Arizona trappers. 
"Tliere is plenty of small timber here, so the 
first thing I do when I find a good brush to 
wire the bait to, is to cut a drag about three to 
four feet long and about three or four inches in . 
diameter about the center of the drag. Cut a 
notch on one side and in the center of the drag. 
Wire the ring of the trap chain securely to the 
drag in the notched place with about two lengths 
of hay baling wire. Lay the drag on the ground 
on one side of the pen and cover Avith brush. The 
pen would be brushed up all around about 18 
inches high, except the entrance." 

"I make a 'U' shaped enclosure about four 
feet long with bait wired to bush in the farther 
end. The pen should be about a foot wide inside 

* of the brush. Dig a hole just inside the en- 
trance of the pen for the trap, which set length- 
wise, and cover even with the surface. x\lso be 
sure and cover the trap chain. Instead of cot- 



166 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

ton under the pan, I use a piece of canvas that 
just fits inside of jaws and put over the pan 
and cover all with sifted dirt from the hole until 
level with the surface. Place a stick across the 
entrance so that when the coj^ote goes up, if he 
wants toxget the meat, he will have to go over 
the stick. It should be about eigiit inches in 
front of the trap. This keeps him from digging 
in the trap." 

^^Now fill in on both sides of the trap between 
it and the side of the pen with small brush or 
twigs so as to guide his foot into the trap. Do 
not put the twigs on the trap where you want 
him to step. I guide his feet right into my 
traps that way. Always lay the bait on the 
ground in the pen, wired to the brush or stake 
in rear end, as coj^otes will not enter pen if 
bait is hung uj). I use horse meat mostly, but 
sometimes rabbits and beef. Hawks and ravens 
are bad on rabbit baits, and cattle paw the traps 
up if set with beef." 

''I set my traps from one-fourth to one-half 
mile apart, and use a fresh rabbit or fresh 
piece of meat and drag from one trap to the 
other, when making my rounds. Also spoiled 
fish scent is good for a trail. I never use gloves 
to prevent human scent in setting traps, and 
I consider it nonsense. After the first night a 
set has been out, almost any coyote will go into 



SOUTHERN BAIT METHODS FOR COYOTES. 167 

the trap. I use No. 14 Newliouse traps, and 
when they catch they never let go." 

^^I never set traps at a large carcass of a 
horse or other animal, for when one does when 
the co^^otes come there to feed and one of their 
number steps into a trap, that generally settles 
it for the rest of them, and they will not come 
back. Set traps from one-eighth to one-fourth 
of a mile all around the carcass and bait with 
meat from the carcass is a good plan." 

''I visit my coyote traps daily if possible, as 
they should not be left in the traps to frighten 
others away that would get caught, if the trap 
Avas set, and seeing that coyote in trouble, they 
will be very shy about coming up to the place 
afterward. I ride horse-back looking after my 
traps, and am able to get over a good deal of 
ground in that way." 

Another coyote trapper from Texas gives the 
same method, and adds: ^^For bait take crack- 
lings from either lard or tallow. Heat them 
in a skillet and Avhen hot, cut up some garlic 
and drop in, but don't let it cook too much. Put 
the mixture in the pen the same as any other 
bait and see how it works. It does fine here, 
but it might be that there are so many coyotes 
here that they will eat any old thing. The best 
thing about that kind of bait is the buzzards 
will not bother it. I have tried it for coyotes, 



168 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

skunk and badgei\ and it is good for all of 
them.'' 

This is the mode of trapping employed by 
a party from Southern California : "Now a 
word about trapping those cute little coyotes. 
As every one has his way of trapping for them 
so do I. The best way to catch anything that 
walks on four legs is to make a fool of tliem. 
Some people may think that is 'hot air', but I 
know better. The way to fool an old coyote is 
to take a fresh slieep skin and drag it, you riding, 
on a horse, for a mile or so in the hills near 
where your man is in the habit of going, (now be 
sure you do not touch it with your hands), until 
you find an open hill not too high. Have a stake 
there beforehand and have your traps set. The 
traps should be left lying in the she?p pen for 
a week before setting. When you get to the 
stake, hang your pelt on it, so v. hen the wind 
blows the pelt will move.'' 

''Mr. Coyote will be sure to find the trail 
you have made and will follow it until he sees 
the pelt, and then he will walk around it for a 
night or so, but he will not get too near the 
first night or for three or four nights, but he 
will be sure to get there after a while and try 
to pull the skin doAvn, and he will forget about 
the traps and everything else, and he will be 
taken in just like all the other suckers." 




CHAPTER XIV. 

NORTHERN BAIT METHODS FOR COYOTES. 

II. C. B. PEYTON, who met such a 
tragic end, while attempting to ar- 
rest a party of game-law violating 
Indians last fall, wrote the follow- 
ing article on coyote trapping, sev- 
eral years ago. ^'I liercAvith sub- 
mit my method for trapping the 
coyote, hoping it will be of interest to the readers. 
My outfit is as follows : Eighty steel traps, var- 
ious sizes 2 to 4^, two saddle horses, one short 
handle spade, one hunter's axe, a piece of can- 
vas, some wool; 3 or 4 pounds of sheep or coy- 
ote wool is enough for one day's setting, one 
30-40, 95 Model Winchester. 

''When there is a bounty I do not start trap- 
ping until the frost is about all out in the spring. 
I start some morning with as many traps as 1 
can set that day, four to the setting, five settings 
is a fair day\s work if done right. I never bait 
until I have my entire line set.'- 

''I have used the following style of setting 
with fair success, known as the square set. I 
select a spot where there is sand or no sod, 
cut a stake about 14 inches long, take four traps, 

169 



170 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

fasten chains to stake, drive stake down until 
about two inches below surface, pull traps out 
about two feet from stake, a No. 2 trap chain 
is about right length, making a square set. Now 
dig out bed for each trap, placing dirt removed 
on canvas or blanket. Bed traps so there will be 
a half inch of dirt over them when covered ; place 
enough wool under pan of trap to keep dirt out 
and keep rabbits or birds from springing them ; 
leave a mark directly over stake to tell you 
where to place bait, when making your rounds 
with bait sack. Carry what dirt is left on canvas 
some distance, before dropping. 

"I prefer a fowl for bait, such as an old dead 
hen, duck or grouse; place bait in center of 
setting on its side, lift a wing and drive a slender 
stake thru into the ground to anchor it and drop 
the wing doAvn on top of stake to conceal if 

"Now back away a few feet and throw a 
few handfuls of dry sand or dirt over your 
tracks. If your work has been well done, it 
will be dififlcult to tell exactly where your traps 
are hidden, if your setting is properly located 
Mr. Coyote will not be slow to see or smell bait, 
as he is always on the lookout for handouts. He 
will take careful note of surroundings, if he 
sees or smells nothing suspicious, he will at- 
tempt to remove bait to some less exposed place 
and eat it or hide it for a future repast. He 



NORTHERN BAIT METHODS FOR COYOTES. 171 

IS ver}^ careful in approaching bait, making 
numerous circles of setting; if the^^ succeed in 
reaching bait without stepping in one of the 
four traps, they soon find one when they attempt 
to raise the anchored bait, then begins a dance 
that lands him in two or more traps, there to 
await the coming of his friend, the trapper." 

''Care should be used in killing captured ani- 
mals, so they will not bleed on ground as that 
will spoil setting. I choke them with a small 
rope. Do not skin carcass nearer than 200 yards 
of setting. I use gloves always in handling bait 
or traps. I ncA^er go nearer than is absolutely 
necessary to see that they are not sprung. My 
line this spring, 1902, Avas 30 miles long. I 
went OA^er it ca ery other day, catching 43 coyotes 
in 6 AA eeks. I haA^e ncA^er lost smj coyotes by 
tAA^sting feet off. When using square setting, 
they most always haA^e two or more feet caught. 
I lose game and traps frequently by being lifted 
by human coyotes. I pull my traps up about 
the middle of May, then go to cruising after their 
dens.'' 

The following method, submitted by another 
northAvestern trapper is practically the same : 
"My outfit consists of the following: 60 No. 3 
Newhouse single spring otter traps (I find they 
will hold any wolf and are easier to set than 
double spring traps), axe, 60 stakes 16 or 18 













1 


r % 




';;;^My, 




li. . .li 




f^ ■* 


^^m' 


If 










**ir'i 


T>: 









A Northern Coyote. 



, 172 



NORTHERN BAIT METHODS FOR COYOTES. 173 

« 

inches long, 12 or 15 pounds of wool or cotton, 
wool preferred, 20 stakes 10 or 12 inches long. 
A piece of oilcloth or canvas about 3 feet square, 
a light Avagon and team, a 30-30 Savage rifle and 
four stag hounds. The liounds are trained to 
stay on the wagon until told to go, and will 
nearl}^ always get a coyote when sent after 
him.'' 

^'In setting traps I choose a high knoll or a 
bare spot on the range and often the bed of a 
dry creek, where I see plenty of signs and then 
proceed as follows : Stick one of the small stakes 
where I want the bait and from 20 to 24 inches 
from it, I lay a trap and stretch tlie chain 
straight back, drive stake through chain ring 
and drive down below tlie surface of the ground 
an inch or more, then fix two more traps the 
same way at the opposite points of a triangle, set 
your traps and place a good wad of wool under 
the pan so that rabbits and other small game 
will not spring it, then jDroceed to bed the traps, 
and chains, placing all the dirt on the canvas. 
Now place your bait (I always use live bait if 
weather is not too cold but have had good suc- 
cess with dead bait). Lay an old dead hen or 
other fowl in the center and drive small stakes 
througli it into the ground, firmly, cover the 
end of stake with Aving or feathers of bait. Noav 
step back arid take dirt from the canvas and cover 



174 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

traps ^ to f inches deej), also cover your own 
tracks and brush over well with a brush. If 
traps are well set, it will be hard to. tell where 
they lay. All dirt that is left on canvas should 
be taken away some distance and dropped.'' 

^'In using live bait, proceed the same way 
with traps, only bait should be tied hj the feet 
with a good, stout cord and place a can of corn 
and one of water within reach of fowl^ both cans 
to be set into the ground even Avith surface. Do 
not go nearer to traps than to see they are not 
sprung and do not shoot or club game in traps 
but choke to death with a copper wire on the 
end of a pole ; a good stout cord will answer the 
same purpose. Wipe all blood off traps before 
setting again and brush out your tracks as be- 
fore, and above all don't spit tobacco juice near 
your traps.'' 

''Never set yoitr trap by your bait; the bait 
is there to attract the animal," says a Colo- 
rado trapper. "When setting traps at your bait 
you only catch two or three, and by this time 
all the coj^otes in the country have seen their 
comrades' doom at this particular place, and 
will stay clear of the place in the future." 

"Find where there is a dead horse or cow in 
a draw', or some place where there are a number 
of trails leading toward it. Coyotes always travel 
on trails whenever they have the chance, in order 



NORTHERN BAIT METHODS FOR COYOTES. 175 

to save their feet. Find where the trail goes 
thru some brush or high grass. Here is the 
place to conceal your traps, five in number, in 
the trail. Set them so they will take in eight 
feet of the trail, and there is no animal that 
can pass over these traps without stepping in 
one or more; fasten each trap with a pin eight 
inches long if the ground is frozen, and if not, 
the pin should be longer. If there is snow on 
the ground, put a piece of cotton under the pan 
and brush snow over them ; if tliere is no snow, 
dig the trap down level with the gTOund, put 
a piece of paper over them and cover lightly 
with, fine dirt. Use No. 3 Hawley & Norton 
or Newhouse traps." 

"Use the same method for Avolf; you need 
no bait for him. Find where he travels in a 
trail. He travels this trail every four or five 
days, take note of this and see if I am not right. 
Use No. 4 Newhouse or Hawley & Norton trap, 
with a heavy short chain and a good sized pin. 
When setting traps, take a piece of hide small 
enough to tie on the bottom of your shoes, and 
when within a hundred yards of the place where 
the traps are to be set, tie the hides on the 
soles of your shoes. Always use clean buck- 
skin gloves when handling your traps." 

"When you catch anything, move your traps 
a hundred 3'ards or so, and reset. A coyote or 



176 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

wolf tears the ground up so that others get sus- 
picious. If you have the chance to set traps 
hc^rseback, take a hide and tie a rope on it, take 
this along, and when setting traps, throw this 
on the ground and step off on to the hide to 
set traps. When thru, get on your horse and 
pull the hide up with the rope. I learned this 
method from two of the best coyote and wolf 
trappers in Wyoming.^' 

The following is from Joseph Casper, an 
Oregon trapper: '^We have here, the co^^ote, 
wild cat, l^^nx, mountain lion and bear, but no 
grey wolves. Coyotes are plentiful, and I have 
seen as many as 6 or 8 at one time. A good 
way to trap them is by dragging the carcass if 
a sheep or pig through shallow ponds and set 
the traps in the water. The coyotes will follow 
the trail and will wade around in the Avater, look- 
ing for the bait. Traps may also be set by the 
side of some dead animal after the coyotes have 
been eating at it, or small pieces of meat or 
lard cracklings may be scattered around th^ 
trap. When setting traps on dry land, I would 
advise using some good wolf scent, to smother 
the human odor. I use the No. 3 Newhouse 
and No. 4 Hawley & Norton traps." 

W. L. Williamson, a Montana trapper, in 
telling his experiences gives the folloAving: 

"Take some rabbits, chickens or other bait 



NORTHERN BAIT METHODS FOR COYOTES. 177 

and make a drag out of it; dragging the bait 
from the horn of the saddle, and about every half 
mile, set t^YO No. 4 Victor or No. 3 Newhouse 
traps in the trail and about 6 inches apart. 
Have a sheep skin to stand on when setting 
the traps, and do not step on the ground. Place 
all loose dirt on the sheepskin and after the 




An Idaho Coyote/ 

traps are set and covered, get on your horse and 
lift the^ skin by cords, attached to the corners. 
Carry the loose dirt away from the setting." 

. This set is good for both grey wolves and 
coyotes : 

"One day I went to the slaughter house, got 
a fresh cow head and took it about three miles 
away, placing it in the center of a small flat. I 

12 



178 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

set several traps around it and the next morning 
I had a nice grey wolf, caught by two feet." 

"When my father had his cattle down on our 
lower ranch, the coyotes killed a young calf one 
morning, so I took four Victor traps and set 
around it, and by 4 o'clock, I had two coyotes. 
I reset the traps and the next morning I had 
another one." 

The trapping methods given in the following 
pages are from expert trappers of all parts of 
the central and northern portions of the coyote 
range. 

"We have a |1.00 bounty on coyotes find f5.00 
on Avolves in this state ,( Wyoming) besides a 
stockmen's bount}^ in certain districts, ranging 
from 11.00 to |2.50 on coyotes, and 115.00 to 
135.00 on wolves. I find the best way to find 
coyotes here is to go out in the open country 
where tlie sheep men run their sheep in winter, 
and when I can find a camp that has just been 
vacated by a band of sheep, I always figure on 
getting from one to five coyotes on that ground, 
as there is most always some dead carcasses left 
behind, and a good, dry place to set in." 

"My method of setting is this, I have all my 
traps with the chains cut off to about six inches 
and a swivel on the end, and use a long iron pin 
about f inches in diameter. Usually, I take 
a part of a sheep with the hide on, and so place 



NORTHERN KAIT METHODS FOR COYOTES. 179 

it as to leave but one natural way into it, where 
two traps put about ten inches apart Avill make 
it impossible for a coyote to get at it without 
being pinched. One can always find natural 
runways thru the sage brush, to make such 
sets.'' 

"I also use the trail set a good deal, and 
always drag a piece of sheep pelt along from the 
pack horse. I use a pack horse most all the 
time, besides a saddle horse, and have two twen- 
ty-five mile circles out, with about thirty-five 
traps to each circle. In this way, I get from 
75 to 150 coyotes every winter. The ground is 
too dry to freeze here, so I bury traps, pins, 
and use paper over and under jaws." 

^'A dead sure way to get a coyote every time 
is this, I can kill sage hens most any time, and 
always carry some on the pack horse. When it 
comes time to eat, first dig a hole to bury trap 
in and build a sage brush fire in it and singe a 
few of the feathers and some of the flesh in it, 
and set in the ashes. Who ever saw a camp fire 
that didn't have covote tracks around it?" 



"My way of trapping coyotes is to go to 
some prairie dog town and find an unused hole 
or one that has been filled up. Chop out a small 
hole two or three inches deep, then dig three 



180 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

trenches for the chains, then three holes for the 
traps, which must not be too deep nor too shal- 
low. This requires practice and good judgment. 
They must be deep enough to allow the trap to be 
covered half an inch with dirt or sand, and 
still be even with the surrounding surface. Any 
deeper is too deep.'' 

"Put a large piece of wool under the pan, 
and cover jaws, pan and all with a piece of 
heavy paper or light cloth, to keep the dirt 
from getting under the trap pan. Drive the 
stake with three traps attached until the top 
is two inches or more below the top of the 
ground; put the chains in their trenches and 
the trap in the holes dug for them. Cover all 
over with fine dirt the same as it was before be- 
ing disturbed. Then take a brush made from 
stiff tough grass, a small brush or the wing 
of a chicken or sage-hen and brush out all finger 
marks, etc., then drop the last bait on top of stake 
and go away.'' 

"The coyote or wolf will not come close 
enough to get caught the first three or four 
nights, but don't get uneasy, they will get bold 
after awhile, if you don't go too close to 
your trap when looking at it. When one gets 
caught in a trap set this way, he pulls to the 
end of the chain and swings around so as to 
step into another trap, then there is not much 



NORTHERN BAIT METHODS FOR COYOTES. 181 

danger of him breaking a chain or pulling up 
a stake." 



''In trapping the coyote or Avolf, I make a 
bed some three or four feet each way, or nearly 
round. I set the traps after I swing the spring 
to the ''dog" side. Then place the trap, say, 
about ten inclies from the outside of the bed. 
Cover them with about three-fourths inch of soil. 
I cover the pan with a piece of gunny sack so 
the sack will be inside of the jaws. I place the 
pin in the middle of the bed, — everything is 
covered." 

"I use bacon for my bait. After I have the 
bed all smooth and fine, I cut the bacon in 
very small pieces, then scatter them all over the 
bed, saj some four inches apart. Coyotes like 
the bacon. They commence to pick up the small 
pieces and the first thing the^^ know they are 
in trouble. I caught in two nights with the 
eight sets six coyotes." 

"I make my beds near the cow trails. I have 
had better success making my beds near a dead 
carcass than to set the traps by the carcass. 
Last October we had an old coyote and five pup- 
pies that were killing sheep for one of our neigh- 
bors. I set one trap where the herder gen- 
erally saw them. I caught the five young ones 



182 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

the first five nights: The sixth morning I went 
to the traps and thej^ were dug up and the bait 
gone. I reset them and they were in the same 
shape the next morning. I said to m3^self, ^'Oki 
girl, I will fo*)l you." I made another bed some 
thirty feet from the old one. I set four traps 
in the new bed and fixed up the old one just the 
same as I liad it before, only minus the traps. 
The next morning she was caught and had three 
feet in the traps. She. ate all the bait on the 
old place and had pawed up the ground." 

"I d:j not use scent. I have tried several 
kinds and consider them no good. I have trailed 
coyotes where they have been trailing my tracks 
and found them caught in the traps. I have 
set traps in the evening and found co^^otes in 
them the next morning. I have been trapping 
coyotes and wolves for some five j-ears in my 
county (Billings Co.) I am located on the 
Little Missouri River a short distance south of 
the old ranch that President Roosevelt used to 
own, what is called Bad Land Country." 



"First boil your traps, and from the time 
you take them from the hot water, use gloves 
till set, gloves to be smeared with blood. Take 
a pair of old shoes and nail on some blocks of 
. wood cut from 2x4 stuff, the length of your 



NOKTHERN BAIT METHODS FOR COYOTES. 188 

shoes; nail them on from the inside of shoes 
with small nails, nse gloves to do this. Now 
you are ready to start to where your coyotes are, 
so take four No. 3 or 4 traps and stake 3 feet 
long, with something to drive it with. Don't 
let traps touch your clothes while carrying 
them.'' 

^'When you get to your place that you have in 
mind, put stake thr.u all four rings of traps and 
drive down to the level of the ground; put your 
traps out each way so as to form a square, and 
bury each trap, chain and all. Make everything 
look as natural as possible. Put a small piece of 
wool or cotton under pan of trap and cover all 
well with dirt ; take what dirt you have left from 
digging to set trap and carry away. Now leave 
your traps set till next evening, and then take 
a piece of beef liver or fresh hog lungs, put on 
your same shoes with blocks on and go put 
your bait in center of trap, (keeping gloves on), 
and don't expect to catch your coyote the first 
night, as he will likely come up close and take 
a look at things and go away again, but the 
third or fourth night, he will try to sample your 
bait, and when you catch your first one, the 
next one will walk in a lot quicker." 

''I have caught as many as eight at one set- 
ting. Now mind you, in going to trap and re- 
setting them, wear your shoes and gloves. I 



184 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

always bury my gloves and shoes in dirt to 
keep off human scent. I have caught lots of 
them this way, although, I have other methods. 
The main thing is to keep human scent off of 
trap and the ground where your traps are set." 



"I saw a coyote jump over a sage brush 
about 6 rods from me one day, and shot at him 
as he struck tLe ground with No. 6 fine shot 
and killed him. As I went to pick him up, I 
found his hind foot in a No. 2 Newhouse trap. 
I took him out of the trap, took the trap, and 
followed his track for about one-half mile to- 
ward the top of the Butte, and found a dead 
horse. I left the trap, went back and skinned 
the coyote, took his hide over to Mr. Muma." 

"About a week after killing the coyote, I 
went over the Butte, and found a man at the 
horse covering up some traps. I told him of 
killing the coyote and where to find the hide. 
He caught 11 coyotes at this horse up to Feb- 
ruary 1st. They set their traps from 10 to 30 
feet away from the horse, between sage brush, 
where coyotes would be likely to walk in ap- 
proaching the horse. They had eight traps set 
at this place, fastened each one to a limb about 
3 feet long. I think they put some scent on the 
horse to keep the coyotes from eating him, as 



NORTHEllN BAIT METHODS FOli COYOTES. 185 

I did not see as they had eaten any of it during 
the time they had their traps set." 



"I will give some good coyote sets, altho the 
season is about over now, March 8th, but some 
coyote trappers Avill trap most all summer in 
order to get bounty. I find that this thing in 
handling your traps with gloves on is all fool- 
ishness. Well, to begin with, take some lard 
cracklings, say a half dozen. Go to some brush 




A Trail Set. 



where there is a trail going through, take your 
cracklings to the trail and scatter cracklings 
along trail, and set traps one at each end of 
brush in trail. This is a set hard to beat, boys. 
Another way is to find some old cow path, and 
if you see coyote tracks in this set a few traps 
along in it, cover traps, first spreading some 
brown paper over trap then some dirt. Take an 
old coyote foot, make tracks all around your 
trap, and you will have another good set." 



186 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

''Here we have the coyote in larger numbers 
than any of the furry tribe, and he is here to 
stay, for his cunning is a match for the best of 
trappers, but mau}^ a one gets his toes pinched 
every season and his coat is worn the next.'' 

''The best method that I know of to fool the 
cute chap is to find a carcass, and if they are 
feeding off it, then take about six or eight No. 
3 or 4 Newhouse traps and set well back from 
bait. Set in trails leading to and from the 
carcass, but be very careful and leave no signs, 
for Mr. Co^^ote is very careful to look all around 
before partaking of his meal, and while making 
this tour of inspection (if you have yolir traps 
rightly and neatly set) he will get his foot 
caught." 

"Never fasten the trap solid but to a drag so 
that he can drag it off and not prevent all the 
others from coming to the bait, and also' he 
makes his hardest fight immediately after being 
caught, and if 3^our trap is staked solid and 
happens to have a weak place, or your coyote 
is not securely caught, you are very apt to lose 
him." 

"Find an old badger hole with a large pile of 
dirt in front of it. Take your traps, and every- 
thing needed to make the set with, walk straight 
up to the place and don't move out of your tracks 
while you set the traps. Put the bait, fresh meat 



NORTHEIIN ISAIl' METHODS FOR COYOTES. 187 

Of almost any kind, in the hole, so that the coy- 
oe an just L it. Set one trap about six inches 
ZL the month of the hole, a little to one side 
and another on top of the mound of dirt, huij 
the to-les carefully the length of the chams 

rom th^ traps and ^ig a hollow for the traps^U> 
set in Be sure they rest solidly in then beds, 
so that they .ill not tip over if the coyote steps 
on the law. Cover neatly, with, first a piece 

of piper^cl then fine dirt. After tHe set is 




Traps Set at Badger Den. 

completed, use a skunk's tail f- ^^ "g!^"^ 
smooth or.t all signs except your tracks. Have 
H appear that vou have walked by there without 
stoiEi The No. 4 Newhouse trap is the one 
S use, and the more coyotes you catch in one 
nlace the better the set will be. 
^ "Iround most ranches are hollows, ditches, 
or strips of brush, along which the coyote ap^ 
proachL the ranch to catch chickens. A ong 
one of these places, about a quarter of a mile 
Jroin the house is the place to catch a coyote. 



188 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

"Take the entrails of a liog or other animal 
and go up the gulch until you find a place where 
the ground is loose and there is no grass. Set 
two traps about four feet apart and place the 
bait between, and about one foot from one of 
the traps. If the animal tries to. eat the bait, it 
will be caught in this trap, and if it is suspicious 
ana walks around the bait, the other one will 
catch it. Take a piece of the bait and erase all 
signs that you have made in setting the traps, 
so that it will appear that you have only come 
there to dispose of the bait." 

"Look at the traps every other day, not oft- 
ener, and never go close to a set if it can be 
avoided. These may not be the best methods^ 
but they are good ones, and I have cauglit many 
coyotes with them. When you get thirty or forty 
skins, you Avill think that they are well worth 
the trouble necessary to secure them, just to 
look at." 




CHAPTER XV. 

BLIND SET METHODS. 

HERE wolves and coyotes are plen- 
tiful and natural conditions are 
favorable, blind sets are very suc- 
cessful, especially for the wary an- 
imals that refuse to take bait. Con- 
ditions must be favorable in 
order to make blind set trapping 
feasible. There must be plenty of good clear 
trails traversing the country, and a compara- 
tively rough locality will be found to be the best 
as, on rough ground, the wolves are more certain 
to walk on the trails. 

It is only, perhaps, a small per cent, of the 
trappers who are able to make a success of 
blind sets, for it requires one who is very ob- 
serving and a diligent Avorker. To make a fair 
catch requires that one runs a long line of traps, 
for he must depend on putting his trap just 
where the Avolf will step, instead of decoying the 
animal into the trap by means of a bait, and no 
matter how careful he is in this matter, he is 
certain to set a lot of traps in bad places. 

On the other hand, if food is plentiful and 
the wolves do not take bait well, or if they have 

189 



190 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

become shy and wary because of persistent trap- 
pingj one is more likely to make a showing if he 
uses blind sets, in part at least. Then, too, he 
may be more certain of pulling in the "old vet- 
erans.'' 

The reason that the blind set is more certain 
for the wary animals is that there is no bait to 
arouse the suspicions of the intended victim, 
and it is taken Avhen completely off its guard. 
Such animals as the wolf, coyote and fox are 
always suspicious of a bait even though there is 
no trap there, and will sometimes steer clear 
of it fcn^ several days, simply because they think 
there may ])e something wrong there. They 
approach a baited trap warily and if they detect 
any disturbance or sign of human presence, 
they are off for good. With the blind set, that 
would not occur and if the trap is in the proper 
place, the trapper may be pretty certain of the 
animal when it comes that way. 

In all parts of the wolf and coyote country, 
trails of some kind are to be found. On the 
Western Plains the stock trails are numerous 
and offer great possibilities for blind trapping. 
In the mountains, game trails are to be found 
and as such trails invariably lead through passes 
and other natural passage-ways they make ex- 
cellent places for wolf sets, if on the animals' 
route. In the northern forests, moose, caribou, 



BLIND SET METHODS. 191 

and deer trails are plentiful and good places 
for blind sets are to be found. 

Main trails are the best always, unless one 
finds tlia.t the animals are traveling on the 
branches. The trail leading to the crossing 
place of a deep washout is an excellent place 
in which. to set a trap. Unless the trail traverses 
a natural pass or leads to the crossing of a 



iini i> wii « i > ^ii 



yiAi^lfa^ 



mi 



A Good Catch. 

ravine, it is always best to be sure that the an- 
imals are traveling the trail before setting 
traps. 

A narrow, well defined portion of the trail 
should be selected, and if there are bunches of 
brush, cactus or weeds on either side, so much 
better. A single trap may be used but as the 
animal is likely to step over it without springing, 



192 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

two traps are better. Tliej should be attached 
to drags of some sort; either stones, chunks of 
wood or tlie pronged, iron drags. If the traps 
are staked the captured animal will tear up 
the trail and the next one that passes that way 
will stop to investigate and may locate the trap. 
With other sets, it is sometimes better to let 
the captured coyote or wolf scratch up the set- 
ting but with the trail set, it is best to use a 
drag. 

A piece of canvas or cow or sheep hide should 
be spread on the ground and the trapper should 
stand on it while making the set, and should 
also use it as a receptacle for the loose dirt. A 
hole should be dug for each trap, the same shape 
as the trap when set, but a little larger, and of 
such a depth that when the trap is covered, the 
covering will be even with the surface of the 
ground. A narrow trench should be made for the 
chain and a hole in which to place the drag. 
The drag should be buried as far from the trap 
as the chain will allow. 

The traps should be set with the jaws lying 
lengthwise of the trail. After filling in neatly 
with dirt around the springs and the outside of 
the jaws, a sheet of clean paper should be placed 
over the trap and covered with from one fourth 
to one half inch of fine dirt, covering the edges 
of the paper first to prevent it from sagging. 



BLIND SET METHODS. 193 

When finished the whole should be brushed 
smooth and the surplus dirt carried away. 

Sometimes one can find a long, deep ravine 
which is practically impassable to wolves and 
coyotes. At such places one may find small 
branches running out to the side and wherever 
there is such a branch, there is sure to be a 
trail at the first crossing place. Such a trail 
is sure to be used by the animals when traveling 
along the canyon for when they strike the lateral 
branch, they are certain to follow it to the first 
crossing place. That is the place to set a trap 
for them. 

One of the trappers who is located on the 
coyote range of the Northwest, writes : ^^There 
are several, ways of trapping for the coyote 
but none of them will hold good very long. The 
coyote will soon get on to the way you trap, and 
know as well where your trap is as you do.'' 

The most successful way I have found is to 
take two No. 3 and No. 4 Newhouse traps and 
wire the rings together hard and fast. Set them 
in trails tliat are used by the coyotes. Dig a 
hole in the trails the right size for the traps. 
Double the chains up and put them under the 
traps, cover the traps lightly with dust, leaving 
everything as normal as possible. Two traps 
together make your chances double for a catch, 
and the loose trap answers for a drag. The 

13 



194 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

coyote will not go far until he becomes entangled 
for keeps. I never use bait only to draw the coy- 
ote to some place where there are lots of trails 
leading in all directions. These trails I mo- 
nopolize with traps as just described. I set it 
in the most likely looking place, then take a 
large sized bait, fasten it in a thicket in the 
vicinity of the traps, and your chances are good 
for a catch.'' 

Another trapper gives his method in the fol- 
lowing: ''In setting traps for wolves and coy- 
otes, I set them mostly on the trails made by 
stock. I use steel pins made from rake teeth. 
With a short handled axe I cut out a place in the 
trail so the trap will be level with the top of the 
ground Avhen covered. I use paper over the 
jaAvs and set two No. 4 traps at a setting, put- 
ting them fourteen or twenty inches apart. A 
wolfs foot is good for brushing the dirt over 
the traps so as to make everything look as nat- 
ural as possible. I use a pair of gloves in hand- 
ling my traps and set them where the trail is 
narrow and on a little knoll, or where the trail 
goes around a bank or between tAvo hills. 

"Leave all wolf and coyote carcasses near the 
traps after skinning them, as they make a good 
decoy. A good plan is to throw your rope around 
a piece of meat and drag it from your saddle 
horn. Take a dozen No. 4 traps and go up and 



BLIND SET METHODS. 195 

down the dusty trail and set them on the drag 
mark. If you liide them well, you will get Mr. 
Wolf or Coyote. I do not use bait in warm 
weather and not much in cold weather. A grey 
wolf is hard to cate]i by bait, unless very hun- 
gry and he is seldom troubled that way where 
there are cattle and horses on the range." 



CHAPTER XVI. 



SNOW SET METHODS. 




HEN the ground is covered with 
snow, trapping for A^'olves is ex- 
ceedingly difficult and there are 
few, if any trappers Avho can make 
a success of it. Throughout 
Northern Minnesota, Wisconsin 
and Michigan, as well as in Can- 
ada, a few are caught by the most persistent 
hunters, but the winter catch never amounts 
to much. 

It is difficult to make a set in the snow and 
leave no signs when the set is finished, and even 
if one can make a neat set it will seldom remain 
long in working order. This is the rule, but 
there is one exception, a set which is successful, 
but can only be used in places where the winter 
temperature is such that the snow will remain 
a long time in a loose, powdery condition. In 
other words it can only be used successfully in 
the North, where the Aveather is very cold. The 
method referred to is the one used by the north- 
ern Indians for trapping both the fox and wolf. 
It is made as follows: 

Having tlie trap attached to a heavy clog, 
196 



SNOW SET METHODS. 



197 



and Avell cleaned by boiling or washing, go out 
onto the ice of some Avindswept lake and scrape 
up a pile of snow. ]Make it cohe-shaped about 
three feet in height and six or seven feet in di- 
ameter at the Base. Bur^^ the clog, or drag, in 
the mound, and stretch up the chain, so as to 
bring the trap to the top. Make the mound hard 
l\y beating it with a snowshoe, and in the top, 
scoop a hole about five inches deep and somewhat 
larger than the trap. Line this hole Avell withtlry 




moss or cat-tail down, the down is best, and 
place the trap in the nest. Fill inside of the 
jaAvs, and under the pan Avith cat-tail down and 
after the trap has become cold, so that there is 
no danger of the snoAv sticking to it, sift snoAv 
OA^er it, to the depth of an inch. Do not touch 
this snoAV Avith tlie hands or it will freeze hard 
and the trap Avill not spring. 

The b^it should be cut into small pieces and 
tucked into the sides of the snoAv monnd, where 



198 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

it will be out of sight of the birds. Brush out 
your tracks as you go away and the wind will 
soon erase every vestige of signs, leaving the 
snow as smooth as it was before the traj) was 
set, but the mound Avill freeze hard and no 
amount of wind can drift it away. 

Such a set will remain in working order as 
long as the weather stays cold. A fresh fall 
of snow will bury the set for a short time but 
the wind storm that always follows a snowfall 
will blow all loose snow off the mound, leaving 
just a sufficient amount over tlie trap, as that 
will be sunken somewlmt below the level. Tlie 
human scent will also pass awa^^ in a short 
time. 

This set is practically the same as setting a 
trap on the level and scattering the bait about, 
the only reason for setting it on a mound be- 
ing that it will not be buried by the falling 
snow. 

While the set described does well where 
wolves are making an occasional trip across the 
country, for places where the animals are plen- 
tiful, some other methods must also be em- 
ployed. 

If one can find where the wolves have killed 
some animals and are f-eeding on the carcass, 
he will note that they have trails where they 
approach. One may put out a large bait and they 



SNOW SET METHODS. 199 

will beat a trail about it at times. These trails 
make excellent places for snow sets. 

The best way to make the set is to fasten 
the chain of the trap to the end of a long pole 
clog, and having set tlie trap, split the end of 
the pole and pincli one of the springs in the 
split. Now slip a clean paper bag over the trap 
and stand the pole and trap against a tree some- 
where in the neighborhood of the bait, for a day 
or more, to alloAV the foreign odors to pass 
away. This is not ah^'a3's necessary, but it is 
best. Tlien go and make the set by pushing the 
trap under the snow in the wolf's trail, stand- 
ing as far away as possible and without touching 
the trap, or the end of the pole that it is fast- 
ened to. If the set can be made while it is snow- 
ing, or just before a light fall of snow, so much 
the better. After the trap is set walk back step- 
ping in the same tracks and brushing the foot- 
prints away with a bunch of evergreen boughs 
tied to a stick. 

This set is good if the wolves are visiting 
the carcass regularly but will not remain in 
good condition very long, as a heavy snowfall 
will put the trap out of commission. 

One of the professional wolf catchers of the 
western mountain regions, gives the following 
set : "When there is snow, I cut a piece of soft 
cloth, white preferred, the size of the jaws, when 



200 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

open, and lay it over the trap, being careful not 
to let it get into tlie corners, next to tlie springs; 
then cover lightly with snow. The cloth will 
prevent the snow from getting under the pan of 
the traj) and thus prevent it from springing. It 
is also a good i^lan to put a brace under the 
pan, so that tlie birds cannot spring the trap. 
A small forked willow will do, but a better plan 
is to drill a liole through the pan, near the edge, 
and place a match, or a tooth pick slanting 
through the hole to the bed of the trap." 

"I use the No. 4 Newhouse trap Avith long 
chain, for coyotes and wolves. The bait, I cut 
in small pieces and scatter all around the trap." 

One of the coyote trappers from Saskatche- 
wan, Canada, says : ^'I will give a snow set for 
coyotes that an Indian showed us and we proved 
its merit. Select a good hard snow drift, set 
your trap and lay it on top of the drift, then with 
a knife, mark the snow around the trap, remove 
trap and dig out the snow to a depth of three 
or four inches, replace trap in hole so that the 
pan will be about two inches below the surface. 
Now go a little distance off and cut a cake of 
snow large enough to cover hole, in which lies 
the trap and scrape it as thin as possible with- 
out breaking. This requires care. Now place 
the cake over the trap and sprinkle some snow 
around the edsres so as to leave all smooth. 



SNOW SET METHODS. 201 

The chain and clog of course, shoukl be well bull- 
ied in the snoAV.'' 

'^I have caught a coj^ote in a set like this 
after a big storm, the snow having blown clear 
over the drift and not injuring the set in any 
way ; all I did for bait was to set my trap by a 
little bunch of grass. Of course, it is evident 
a set like the above will only apply when it is 
cold and there is no chance of a thaw. Another 
important point to be remembered in setting 
traps is to give them a firm bed. When a trap 
is sprung it kicks back the same as a gun but 
when on a firm bed it has the greatest chance of 
a high grip." 

In portions of the North, snow sets are used 
considerably. The sets given here were sent by 
a Minnesota trapper who claims to have used 
them successfully. 

''I have trapped wolves a good many winters 
in this part of the country, but they are very 
scarce here now\ As to my way : I use a No. 
4 trap and set under the snow. If I can find a 
place where their paths come together or cross, 
I select it as a favorable place for catching 
them. If there are a couple of bushes near to- 
gether with the paths between, I set my trap 
there, pushing it under the snow from a couple 
of feet back of the path, taking care to make 
as few tracks myself as possible and to fill those 



202 WOI.F AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

up and bru8li with a bunch of twigs or weeds for 
a distance of tAventy feet or more. I sift snow 
over the trap also and leave everything as nat- 
ural as possible. This method I have found 
very successful in capturing these shadowy pests 
of the prairie.'' 

"When ponds, lakes and rivers are frozen 
over and the snow is deep, wolves are apt to 
travel on the ice: any dark object out on the 
smooth expanse of snow on lake or river will at 
once attract their attention and they are apt 
to go and examine. A crow, rabbit or bait of 
any sort; let it be up where it can be seen at 
a distance. Place two or three traps around the 
bait at a distance of three feet, put pieces of 
white paper, one under and one over the trap, 
then cover carefully with dry snow by sifting 
it with a piece of wire screen." 

"When travelling an old trail or timber road 
thru the woods, reach out to one side as far as 
pc^ssible and place a piece of bait with some of 
the scent on it or near it, and place two traps 
half way between bait and trail, also one directly 
in the trail. Set and cover it as on the ice. It 
is a good plan to scatter a few beef or lard 
^cracklings' along your trail. No. 3 traps are 
about right for wolves, and the No. 2^ NcAvhouse 
otter trap makes a good wolf trap if the attach- 
ment is taken from the pan." 




A Large Wisconsin Wolf. 



204 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

''To sum up, the trapper avIio makes a suc- 
cess of trapping Avolves must make a study of it 
and must often contrive methods suitable to 
his particular trapping grounds." 

The following extract from a letter received 
from a Canadian trapper, tells of a very suc- 
cessful coyote set. 

''One day I found a dead sheep in the pasture, 
and dragging it down to the edge of the lake, 
I set my traps around it, covering them nicely 
with wool from the sheep. I told the boys 1 
would have a coyote in the morning, and so I 
did. On the second morning I had a red fox, on 
the third morning a coyote, on the fourth a fox 
and on the sixth morning another coyote. Then 
I did not get any more for a week from which 
time, I caught one now and then until spring. 
I think I caught 23 coyotes and 2 foxes at 
that one bait. When the snow got deep, I set 
the trap on top of the bait. When a coyote came 
along he would smell the bait and would dig 
cloAVn through the snow, into the trap. I wore 
skis when looking at the traps and never turned 
around near a setting." 

"]\ry last winter's catch was as follows: 69 
coyotes, 5 lynx, 2 red foxes, 5 badgers, 12 wea- 
sels, 12 muskrats and 2 mink." 

"I want to tell you how I catch coyotes," 
writes a North Dakota trapper. "I set two or 



SNOW SET METHODS. 205 

three No. 3 Victor traps around some dead 
liorse or cow, cover the trap with a ijiece of 
paper or cheese cloth, then throw snow over 
that, having it look as near like the snrroundin<4S 
as possible. Sometimes I use a fresh beef head, 
but the coyotes are so shy they will not go close 
enough to get in your trap for sometimes a week, 
unless they are starved to it." 

"I think the coyote is as shy as most any 
other animal. I do not think they can smell the 
steel traps for the strong smell of the fresh meat 
or carrion but they are afraid of your tracks, 
and naturally suspicious of everything. When 
I first tried to trap coyotes, I drove up within 
a few rods of where I wanted to. set my traps, 
went and set them, and did not pay any atten- 
tion to destroying my tracks. I would never 
catch any until snow tilled up my tracks.'' 

"Now I set my traps off of skis or snow shoes 
or drive up close to where I want to set my trap, 
and drag some fresh meat over ni}^ tracks ; they 
are not afraid of a sled track for they will travel 
for miles in sled tracks when the snow is deep." 

We will conclude this chapter with an ar- 
ticle written by a Canadian trapper, telling how 
he caught his first coyote : 

"This is my second winter in Alberta and I 
must say that we are having one of the good old 
fashioned kind. The snow is over two feet deep 



206 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

on the level, and the thermometer on one occa- 
sion, went on a strike. It was only 36 degrees 
below zero this morning. 

"Last winter, which was very mild, was a 
poor year for catcliing the sly old coyote. He 
was too well fed and conld get around so easily 
that he never suffered the iDangs of hunger^ so 
was constantly on the watch for danger. We 
had a cow that committed suicide by falling into 
the manger, and I thought she would make good 
bait. So she did until I set some traps around 
her and from that time the coyotes Avould come 
and look at her, but would not venture near. 
However, I succeeded in catching three large 
dogs. 

"On January 5th, I changed mj boarding 
place, moved to within a half mile of Battle 
River and Lake. The co^^otes were quite nu- 
merous around the lake and river, and made 
nightly excursions up around the buildings, feed- 
ing on a dead horse, cow or calf. The boys had 
a couple of traps set beside a cow, but the cattle 
would spring the trap while feeding at the straw 
stack where the dead animal was. Then I took 
a hand and set the traps on runways used by 
coyotes. I set them with great care, but all I 
found Avas a footprint about two inches from 
the pan of a trap. Sometimes they would go 
as far as the trap and w^ould turn around and 



SNOW SET METHODS. 207 

retrace their steps. Oue night they actually 
scratched the snow ott' of the trap, as if to show 
me that I needn't try to fool them because they 
were on to my game. 

^'However, my turn came. There was a little 
old straw pile that they seemed to like to run 
onto, to see if the coast was clear. There I set 
a trap, covered it and the drag nicely with snow, 
brushed out the tracks with a twig and made 
some nice tracks riglit over the trap with an old 
coyote's foot. I also threw a little piece of meat 
up on the stack. 

"Friday morning I ran down to my trap 
and was surprised to see it gone. I saw some 
blood on the snow but could not realize — no 
doubt on account of so many disappointments — 
that there was anything in the trap. However, 
I folloAved up the trail and you can imagine my 
delight in finding a big, fine, dog coyote in the 
brush. The next thing was to kill him, and I 
assure you that they are the hardest animal to 
kill with a stick an inch in diameter that I ever 
tackled. I pounded him on the head until his 
skull was crushed and still he breathed. 

"On Sunday morning I took a walk dowm 
to a trap I had on another straw pile and when 
Avithin a hundred yards of the stack I saw a coy- 
ote rise up, take a look at me and then start to 
run. I ran, too, and when I arrived at the other 



208 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

end of the stack there he was fast in my trap. I 
thought that was pretty good for I had actually 
chased him into my trap. Two coyotes in three 
nights was prett}' good, with oply three traps, 
and I was quite proud of myself, but that was a 
week ago and number three only camie last 
night. I am in hopes of more before spring, but 
never will T have the thrills of pleasure like 
those I had when I found my ^first' coyote." 



CHAPTER XVII. 

SOME RULES AND THINGS TO REMEMBER. 

F you are using small animals for bait, 
use the whole animal, if your method 
will allow of it, and do not skin the 
bait, as that will nuike the coyote 
or wolf suspiciovis. Leave the bait, 
if possible, looking as though it had 
died a natural death and you will be more suc- 
cessful in your trapping. 




Do not, if timber Avolves are expected, stake 
a single trap on smooth ground, for the captured 
animal will be almost certain to escape if you 
can not visit the trap soon after the animial is 
caught. This is especially true when using the 
smaller sizes of traps. When using the regular 
wolf trap, it may sometimes be fixed solidly if 
desired but it is better to use a drag of some 
kind. 



If you find some animal that the wolves have 
killed, do not fail to set traps there at once. 
While it is possible that the wolves will not re- 
turn, there is a chance, and then one is almost 
certain to catch coyotes if there are any about. 

14 209 



210 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

Wolves are sometimes suspicious of a large 
bait and will not venture near to it. In such 
cases one may sometimes make a catch by set- 
ting a trap somewhere near by, using a small 
scrap of bait only. The trap may be placed in 
the open side of a natural half circle of brush, 
and the bait placed behind it. The tail of a 
skunk is said to be an unfailing lure in such sets. 



Sometimes a badger will be caught in a wolf 
or coyote trap. If so, do not skin it, as they are 
worth but little; kill it and let it lay on the 
spot, setting the trap by the side of it. The 
trap may be set in the loose dirt that the cap- 
tured badger has dug up and there will be no 
signs of human interference. It is almost cer- 
tain that a wolf or coyote will be caught there, 
within a few nights. 



When you find Avhere the animals are travel- 
ing on trails, if there is not much stock about, 
to interfere with the traps, make a set on the 
trail, without bait. Such a set is very good for 
the old, wary animals. 



As a general rule, it is best to use blind and 
scent sets in summer, when the weather is warm 



SOME RULES AND THINGS TO REMEMBER. 211 

and bait soon becomes tainted. The wolves are 
likely to pass tainted bait by with a sniff, al- 
though the. coyote is not so particular, and at 
times prefers carrion. In summer, too, food is 
more plentiful and the animals are not likely to 
be hungry. In winter it is best to use bait, as 
then it will remain fresh for a considerable 
length of time and the wolves are hungrier at 
that time. 

Of meat baits, horse flesh is perhaps the best, 
and next in order comes antelope. Beef, pork, 
mutton, and the flesh of all game animals is also 
good for bait and the young animals are always 
preferred and selected, if the wolves do the kill- 
ing. They do not like the flesh of old or dis- 
eased animals. Jack rabbits, cotton-tails, prairie 
dogs, badgers and sage hens make good bait for 
wolves and of these the jack rabbit is preferred, 
perhaps because it contains so much blood. 



It is a good idea to have some small traps, 
No. 1, with wliich to catch prairie dogs for bait. 
The animals are rather wary, however, and care 
must be used m setting and covering. A 22 
caliber rifle is also useful for procuring bait. 



When tending the traps, one should carry a 
long range rifle as he will get shots at coyote, 



212 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

wolf or badger nearl}^ every day. The animals 
killed in that way add considerable to the in- 
come of some of the western wolfers. 



There will be but little chance of making a 
catch as long as any human scent or signs re- 
mains about the setting. The scent will t)ass 
away within a few days, but one should always 
guard against leaving signs. A rain, or a fresh 
fall of snow will sometimes help the trapper 
out, as it removes or covers all signs of human 
presence. Some broken weeds or a freshly 
crushed lump of ground Avill alarm the animal, 
and through such apparently^ trifling causes, one 
mav fail to make a catch. 



When looking at the traps go on horesback 
and do not dismount unless it is absolutely nec- 
essary. On horseback, one m^y ride up quite 
close to the trap and the wolves will not be 
alarmed. If, however, it is necessary to go on 
foot, do not approach the traps nearer than nec- 
essary to see if you have made a catch, also do 
not go oftener than need be. 



Sometimes a coyote wiU uncover a trap, 
or dig it up from its bed. There is no way to 
prevent this and the only hope of catching the 



SOME RULES AND THINGS TO KEMEMKER. 213 

animal, is in having other different sets in the 
same locality. Some other method may catch 
him. For the same reason we wonld advise the 
trapper to make use of different sets when put- 
ting out the traps, for the method that will catch 
one would not be successful with another. 



Do not depend on a few traps alone. Have 
all that 3 on can look, after. If one chance is 
good, two are better, and those who make the 
largest catches are the diligent workers, who 



run long lines. 



Wolves, like all other wandering animals, 
have a regular route of travel. While they may 
vary somewhat from this course, they are sure 
to continue in the same general line so that when 
you see tracks in any locality, you may be certain 
that the animal will travel somewhere near there 
again. 



When setting a trap, never leave it until you 
are satisfied that it is as near a perfect set as 
can be made. If you do that way, you are sure 
to be successful. 



Whenever possible, make the set on the wind- 
ward side of the wolfs route, that is, on the 



214 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

side from which the prevailing winds blow. In 
that way the. animal is more certain to scent the 
bait, and will easily follow it up wind to t^he 
trap. 



Some wolfers make it a practice to burn 
bones and other animal matter near the camp at 
night, believing that it will draw wolves into 
the vicimt}^ 



All of the foregoing rules will help, and 
should be kept in mind, but what is niiore im- 
portant than any of them is that one be indus- 
trious and observing, always endeavoring to 
learn more of the habits and nature of the an- 
imals he seeks for. Such a one is bound to 
make a success of wolfing. 




CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE TREACHEROUS GREY WOLF. 

By Ferry Davis. 

HE accompanying pboto shows the 
writer holding up the skins of two 
mighty greys; either wolf would 
have weighed a hundred pounds, 
and measured six feet from tip to 
tip. Little does the average person 
know of the great damage done by 
these destructive and blood thirsty desperadoes 
of the western stock range. Cowardly and eva- 
sive, when coming in contact with men, yet when 
these two blood thirsty companions were run- 
ning at large, were capable of torturing a full 
grown cow to death ; souu-times a bunch of them 
will destroy good sized horses. The swift footed 
and aggressive range steer, equipped with na- 
ture's weapons, his long sharp horns, falls an 
easy victim to the powerful jaws, sharp teeth, 
and the wise generalship of these terrible brutes. 
Five wolves have been killed in this com- 
munity last winter, and there is but little sign 
of others, and no complaints from the stockmen. 
Billy Clanton claims to have lost about 40 head 
of cattle, mostly calves and yearlings in the last 

215 



216 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

eighteen months and he bhimes this small bunch 
of wolves for that loss. The great state of South 
Dakota pa^^s the miserable sum of |5.00 bounty 
on grey Avolves and $2.00 on coyotes. Last year 
the bounty claims ^yere paid 80 cents on the 
dollar, as the claims were in excess of the fund 
appropriated for bountj- purposes. 

I haye heard of wolyes attacking persons in 
the Ayoods of the Northeastern States ; I haye no 
reason to doubt this--they may be a ditf CTent wolf 
from our grey wolf, or buffalo wolf, as they are 
often called. I haye seen them in the Panhandle 
country of Northwest Texas, in Colorado, Wy- 
oming, the Dakotas, Montana and Canada and 
they are all the same, as far as I could' see, in 
looks, size and habits, and I haye ncyer heard 
of them molesting anyone in the aboye men- 
tioned places. Of course, there is the coyote, he 
is eyerywhere I haye eyer been and some call 
him a wolf. Fur dealers call him prairie Ayolf ; 
frequently some fellow will tell me about a black 
wolf, or a big white one, but I just let him run 
it oyer me ; I don't tell him he is a prevaricator, 
neither do I get angry and try to kill him. I 
permit him to think he is telling me something 
and try to look unconcerned and solemn, but I 
think he has looked down on the back of a grey 
wolf from high ground and he looked dark and 
the more he thought about it, the darker it be- 




Mr. Davis With the Big Wolf Skins. 



217 



218 AVOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

came, until he became almost too black for any- 
thing. The same Avolf standing on a hill above 
you, will show the white and yellow on his 
breast and belly and that always looks so much 
like that big white wolf. I do not doubt but 
that there is an occasional black wolf, but I 
have never seen one. 

I want to see every wolf and coyote in the 
country with his hide nailed up to dry. I did 
not encourage others to trap when I was wolf- 
ing, as I wanted to know how to work my range 
to the best advantage, and beginners often make 
them hard to catcli ; their work is too coarse and 
the wolves get wise. To the boys who inquired 
in the July number about methods of setting 
and baiting for wolves, I will say I will give you 
the best I've got. While an experienced wolfer 
can give 3'Ou some good pointers, he can do you 
no good, unless you are an early riser and an 
energetic worker with lots of patience, for suc- 
cessful wolfing is not a lazy man's job. Of 
course, I do not know anything about trapping 
in the woods or in the country east of the Mis- 
souri. No. 4 Newhouse traps are the best where 
you are trapping wolves and coyotes both. 

A prairie dog town is a good place, especially 
if the countr^^ is rough around it, as wolves 
come to catch the dogs. Make a blind set on 
some smooth mound, set about three traps close 



THE TKEACHEliOUS GllEY WOLF. 219 

together. Kinsey stakes all three to one pin, 
probably to save time, but I always stake them 
so that they can't quite pull them together but 
it takes more work. The wind generally blows 
from the northwest and wolves generally come 
to a setting facing the wind, and 3^ou will see 
the advantage in having your traps set on the 
^'windward'' side or set them in a triangle with 
bait in center — a prairie dog cut in several pieces 
and then pTit together to look natural. In pick- 
ing the pieces up, he is liable to step around 
some. If the dog is whole, he iimj cdrrj it away 
without being caught. It is not always necessary 
to bait after you have caught one, as he leaves 
scent tliat will attract others. Get traps in 
bare ground, don't chop out places in the grass. 
In trapping along trails and creeks alwaj^s re- 
member the wind ; this is important. Roll up a 
bunch of wool to put under the pan and cover 
the whole trap with dry dirt, especially in 
winter. 

If you have been covering your traps with 
paper, cut it out — wool is more convenient and 
the mice do not uncover your trap and the wind 
does not uncover it so much. If you are both- 
ered b}^ having cattle spring your traps at a car- 
cass, set your trap under the edge of the carcass 
where stock will miss them but when the coyote 
rears back to pull off a bite, it is right Avhere 



220 WOLF AND COYOTE TIUPPING. 

he will put his front feet. I have often killed 
^'Big Jaws/' old horses and cripples and then 
set traps on the trails they follow to feed on the 
carcass, but seldom set the trap at the carcass. 
Good strychnine is good if one knows how to 
use it. If you want to make drop baits, cut up 
small pieces of the paunch and roll the poison 
up in it. They like that part of an animal and 
if they swallow it Avhile it is frozen, it will unroll 
in the stomach and give the poison a chance to 
act quickl}^ 

I often use a light wagon in setting traps 
and sometimes carry dirt to cover Avith. I tlirow 
a wagon sheet out to stand on and do all the 
work without stepping on the ground, as one 
should always leave as little scent as possible. 
I tliink that most kinds of scent are good or 
anything that smells rot ton enough, but the old 
grey is certainly cunning and hard to trap, 
especially if he has lost a few toes. Thei'e are 
grey wolves that do not kill cattle ; Avhen I com- 
menced to hunt wolves, I studied them very care- 
fully. I opened and examined the stomach of 
all I caught and instead of finding them loaded 
with fresh meat, I found over half ^Aithout any- 
thing in the stomach at all; others had pieces of 
bones, grass and old pieces of hide stripped from 
old dry carcasses and I found rabbits, mice and 



THE TREACHEROUS GREY WOLF. 221 

gophers and tl^s was in the lower Musselshell 
Countr}^ where there were thousands of cattle. 

I have tried hounds, and have had some of 
the hest that I could get hut the}^ were never 
successful. I never had hounds that would kill 
a grown wolf, but they often stopped the wolf 
until I could shoot it and I never knew them to 
make a good figlit more than once, besides dogs 
knock their toe hails off on rocks and get crip- 
pled up Avith cactus and offer a whole pack will 
almost ruin tliem^elves by killing porcupines, 
the quills getting in the throat and sometimes 
will work through the head and into the eyes and 
blind them. I can take traps and beat any bunch 
of dogs I ever tried for both wolves and coyotes. 

A wolf hound is often very stupid and does 
some very laughable things. I had six good 
ones on a trip in Canada. I was going down the 
Medicine Lodge Valley, had team and the 
hounds; on each side of the road about three 
hundred yards ahead were a bunch of cattle, 
near each bunch tliere was a coyote. I tried to 
send the dogs after them but they could not see 
them, as they were sitting still. Just then the 
dogs saw a badger about a quarter of a mile 
down the road, and they were not long getting 
there. As they passed the cattle, both coyotes 
started after the dogs and followed them to 



223 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

within a few steps of the scene of battle, where 
the six dogs were tearing at the tough skin of the 
badger. The coyotes seemed to think it was 
^^heap fun" and then one coyote jumped into the 
fight and out again and then the other and they 
repeated it several times, when at last a young 
dog discovered one of the coyotes and started him 
over a hill and the other coyote folloAving at the 
heels of the dog. 

Finally the hound found that he was out- 
numbered and went back; the other five never 
knew that there had been a coyote in the val- 
ley, but were still tearing away at the dead 
badger as I drove up. Well, I felt like saying 
something, but I didn't. 




CHAPTER XIX. 

WOLF CATCHING. 

I HIS article by R. H. Winslow was 
origii^ally c o n t r ib u t e d to the 
HUNTER - TRADER - TRAPPER, 
but being of special interest is re- 
I)rinted here: 

'^It was my misfortune sometime 
ago to contract a nervous disorder, which quite 
incapacitated me. After securing the medical 
advice of one of the world's best specialists, it 
was apparent that I would find health, if at all, 
only in a 'journej^ to nature.- Accordingly I 
decided to leave Xew York and spend a year in 
the West, there to hunt quail, prairie chicken, 
wild turkey, rabbits, bob cats, wolves, deer and 
bear. 

'^At first I went to Oklahoma and from there 
traveled by easy stages to the Mill Iron Ranch 
in Northwest Texas, which I have thus far made 
my headquarters. 

''The feathered tribe, rabbits, prairie dogs 
and bob cats interested me for a while, but 
soon my thoughts became centered on wolves. 
Indeed, thej are extremely interesting, and I 
was not long in discovering that it would be 

223 



224 



WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 



necessary to copo with animals of almost human 
intelligence. Too, they were quite plentiful — 



could be seen any day 



riding over 



c 


^.,^ 


^:^^^^Pm 


\ 


A 






-• . J^- 







the 
ht 



while 
plains — and n i _ 
they m a d e hideous 
with their howls. 
Would I hunt them 
with horse and gun, 
horse and dogs, or at- 
tempt to trap them? 
That was the question 
confronting me. 

''^Ij first experi- 
ence with horse and 
gun came about in 
this way : Two young 
cowboys, Ernest Ed- 
wards and Kobert 
Russell, were with 
me hunting prairie 
chicken; we saw a 
wolf lying in the sage 
grass about five hun- 
dred yards awa}^, and 
decided that although 
we had shot guns, we 
would endeavor t o> 
ride up sufficiently close to get a shot. Edwards 
and I were within about eighty yards of the wolf 



A Texas Specimen. 



WOLI' CATCHING. 225 



When he started; both fired, and Russell started 
immediately in pursuit. Kussell ran after him 
tor about three miles, when the chase was taken 
up by Edwards, who, upon his famous sorrel, 
'Pla^miate,' was soon within a few yai-ds of him 
and fired with his shot gun. Three shots brought 
him to the ground. 

"After this I saw cowboys try to rope wolves, 
but seldom with success; and frequently they 
would attempt to kill them from their mounts 
with carbine or revolver, but were likewise sel- 
dom successful. It was not long, accm-dingly, 
before it was evident to me that very little suc- 
cess would attend my efforts with horse and 

^°"The next plan was to try riding to the 
hounds. There are on the ranch many imported 
wolf-hounds, two grey hounds and two blood 
hounds. It comprises about a million acres 
and these dogs are allowed to roam over it at 
will; sometimes they are at Estellme; sometimes 
at Siiamrock ; sometimes at Aberdeen ; sometimes 
at other places. There is no regular hunting 
with them by the foremen or cowboys, and none 
of the owners live on the ranch. These hounds 
are perfectly trained, though, and understand 
quite well the ways of a wolf. The following is 
mv first experience with horse and dogs : 

"The- day before my arrival at the Beasley 

15 



226 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

Camp, which included a house of a dozen or so 
rooms, barns and the like, a beef had been 
killed and the waste left laying about a hun- 
dred yards from the house. We had just gone in 
to luncheon when one of the boys noticed a large 
wolf going up to eat upon this Avaste. AVithin 
an incredibly short time we Avere out of our 
seats, some yeJling for the dogs AAliich were 
lying around the porch, and others straddling 
the horses already saddled. The chase was on. 
It lasted, however, for only about tAventy min- 
utes, for the Avolf Avas soon ^picked up.' After 
this AA e had seA^eral other chases. 

^^Formerly, hunting AAith hounds here was 
practicable and extremely interesting, but now 
that there are AAdre fences everywhere it is quite 
impossible to folloAV the dogs, and, moreover, 
when after a Avolf they frequently leaA^e the 
ranch and go upon the premises of some ^nester' 
(farmer) AAiio has planted poison. 

"In a pack of a dozen dogs, say, there are 
generally tAvo grey hounds used as ^tripping' 
dogs; that is, they run ahead of the main body 
and trip or throw the Avolf, sometimes twice — 
so the others have time to come up and jump 
on. Generally they do no fighting themselves. 

"The last plan Avas to try trapping, and I 
have found that most successful. 

"I found that^ first, it was necessary to boil 



WOLF CATCHING. 227 

the traps, preferably in blood, so as to kill tlie 
odor of steel ; secondly, that my gloves and the 
soles of my boots should be dipped in blood, 
so as to kill all human scent; thirdly, that I 
should prepare a large number of round logs, 
about four feet long and weighing about forty 
pounds, with a notch in the middle of each, to 
receive the chain. Then came the consideration 
of bait. 

''At first I used no bait but depended solely 
upon trail setting and for the following reasons : 
A trapper who was formerly in the emplo}^ of the 
Hudson Bay Company told me of a setting by 
which he attained the greatest success, and it is 
as follows : Take a forked stick the shape of a V, 
the prongs being about two and a half feet long 
and with knots or projections on them ; fit this V 
around a mesquit bush so the bush will be 
pressed closely into the sharp part of the V; 
place the bait, preferably a rabbit — close against 
the tree and in the sharp part of the V; then 
set the trap, completely covered, with springs 
bent inward, eighteen inches back from the bait 
and in the V, with the chain covered and fastened 
to the bush. A wolf will go into a V but will 
never step over anything two inches high to get 
bait. I tried this setting but without success. 
The wolves would go nightly within about ten 
yards of my traps but no nearer. 



228 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

"Then I tried staking out a cow's head with 
the stake driven down so it would not project at 
all above. But before driving- the stake in the 
ground I had the rings attached to my chains 
on it and under the head. Around this head I 
set ten traps in a circle. As before, the wolves 
would go within about ten yards, but no nearer. 
I decided, therefore, temporarily, to use no bait, 
but to try trail setting, for nightly two particular 
paths were literally covered with wolf tracks. 

"]\ry traps, logs, gloves and boots having been 
prepared, they were taken in a wagon to places 
for settings; the traps were sunk into the 
ground so that when leveled there was about 
a quarter of an inch of dirt on top of the tredles; 
tlien the chains were sunk ; and finally the logs. 
About the setting: The center of the tredle 
should be in the center of the trail ; place under 
the tredle a piece of cotton — over it, a round 
piece of jiaper twice its size with a place cut out 
over the restraining lever; cover very carefully 
and be quite sure there are no lumps to get 
caught between the jaws when thrown; and, 
lastly, leave no loose soil visible so there will 
be no trace Avhatever of any disturbance of the 
earth. Three traps should be set in a row with 
the jaws, Avhen set, six inches apart. This plan 
was entirely successful, and I caught wolves 
nightly. In using a log such as has been de- 



WOLF CATCHING. 229 

scribed there should always be used Avith it the 
two-pronged drag such as is furnished with the 
No. 4^ Newhouse traps. A wolf may get a few 
hundred ^ards away, but he will never break 
loose, and ma^^ be traced quite easily. It is un- 
necessary but I use a bloodhound on the ranch, 
'Red,' for this purpose. With a stationary fast- 
ening something may break. 

"In time it became my good fortune to drift 
around to the bull pasture where Curtis Brown, 
a nice young cowboy, is feeding cotton seed to 
half a thousand bulls. Here I found trail trap- 
ping almost impracticable on account of the bulls 
following the trails and throwing the traps, and 
because, seemingly, the wolves would go directly 
to the carcass of a dead bull without reference 
to any trail. Accordingly I would watch the 
carcass closely (about twenty bulls have died) 
and wherever a wolf had begun to eat on a 
carcass I would set my traps so as to catch him 
when he returned to his meal. This plan has 
been all one could ask. 

"Finall}^, I tried luring wolves to my bait by 
setting four traps in a row as described in trail 
setting; but between the second and third I 
buried a bone or lump of meat which had been 
allowed to roast and smoulder all the night 
before. Wolves could smell this miles away, 



230 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

would come to it and get in the traps. This, in- 
deed, is the best scheme I know an^^thing about. 

'^I have noticed that Mr. Ernest Thompson 
Seton and others say ^a she wolf or dog staked 
out in the mating season is an infallible lure; 
and a captive wolf that will howl is good at 
any time.' We have a number of female wolves 
around the camp now and have had them for a 
•long while, one is quite gentle and they howl. 
They have been staked out frequently with a 
circle of traps around each, but no wolf has been 
near. 

"Aside from the sport to be obtained in trap- 
ping wolves, tlie pecuniary feature is of interest 
to the trappers. In New Mexico where they 
are much more plentiful than in Texas, there 
is a bounty of twenty dollars each on Lobo 
wolves (Canislupus) and two and one-half dol- 
lars on coyotes. Moreover the trapper does 
not have to wait for his money for the large 
ranch owners pay cash for the scalps in order 
to have him trap on their range, thus decreas- 
ing the number of wolves and thereby protecting 
their cattle and sheep. Too, the trapper is usual- 
ly furnished a horse or two." 



CHAPTER XX. 




WITH THE COYOTES. 

By Louis Wcssel. 

HILE the tourist speeds across the 
cheerless plains on his way west- 
ward, snuoly seated in the uphol- 
stered berths of an overland limit- 
ed, the objects of attraction over 
the landscape are so rare that he 
will find little desire to spend or 
waste, as he will say, much time in viewing the 
scenery ; and instead, will settle down to a book 
or something or other less monotonous than that 
almost boundless stretch of country, through 
which he must pass, before he can expect to see 
the rui^ged peaks of the Rockies loom up about 
the distant horizon. Swiftly the limited is carry- 
ing him toward his destination, yet slowly very 
sloAvly the time passes for him, as hour after hour 
wears away without bringing a change of scene, 
until even the monotony of the situation begins 
to generate in him an interest for the surround- 
ings. 

He lends a closer scrutiny to the objects as 
they speed by. ''Why is yonder bluff so lifeless 
and dreary?''' he mused. "What fantastic forms 

231 



232 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

are those near it?'' They are but spurs of the 
famous ''Bad Lands.'' ''And this large field of 
bushes, what is it/' he inquires. Some newly 
formed friend who is better acquainted with 
the nature of the Great Plains will inform him 
that this is but a patch of sage bush, an aridity 
loving plant, characteristic of this region. He 
will explain that yonder mounds are part of a 
prairie dog town, and the little marmot like 
forms, perched in their peculiar attitudes on the 
little round knolls, represent the inhabitants of 
this populous city. The traveler has oft heard of 
prairie dogs, and is surprised on a close ac- 
quaintance with them. They appear so differ- 
ent from what his mind has pictured them. He 
watches them scamper to their burrows, sit up 
for a moment on their haunches and dive out of 
sight. 

His interest, however, is not completely 
aroused until he catches sight of a dog like form, 
half hidden among the sage bush. He watches it 
as it disinterestedly trots along with drooping 
head and tail, a picture of despair, most per- 
fectly suited to its environments. Once it stops 
all alert, looks back over its shoulder, e^rs 
pointed and nose uplifted, and the train leaves 
it behind in all its lonliness. This is our first 
acquaintance of the coyote or prairie wolf. Coy- 
otes are of several varieties, each differing 



WITH THE COYOTES. 233 

from the rest tliroiigii certain iDeculiarities in 
form, size or color, and each having a well de- 
fined geographical range. Collectivel}^ they 
range from the npper Mississippi Valley west- 
ward tlirongh the Great Plains and Rocky ]Monn- 
tains, soutirvvard to northern Mexico and north- 
Avard into British Colnmbia and the Nortliwest 
Territories. 

While the coyote is found in one or another 
of its forms, in greater or lesser numbers 
throughout this region, its most congenial home 
is among the Bad Lands and among the sand- 
stone ridges, steep sided buttes and deep narroAV 
eoules and canyons in the Colorado and upper 
Missouri Valleys, and it is here that its greatest 
numbers are found. Being thoroughly fitted 
to these surroundings it has been enabled to 
hold its own through the advent of civilization, 
while most of its larger co-inhabitants have been 
sadly reduced in numbers. 

It is true that the combined actions of poi- 
sons, traps and high power rifles have done much 
to reduce the numbers of tlie coyote in some of its 
favorite haunts, yet, in other localities, its per- 
sistent numbers are desendng of considerable 
credit. Tliey prove but the survival of the 
fittest. 

Among the mountains the coyote is rarely 
found, though since the coming of the w^hite man 



234 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

with his flocks they have multiplied considerably 
in several localities even to such an alarming 
degree that ranches have found it unprofitable 
to further attempt to raise sheep. 

The coyote of the plains is considerably 
smaller than the wolf, being intermediate in 
size between the red fox and the grey wolf. It 
has the short body, bushy tail, rounded head 
and pointed nose of the fox and might easily be 
mistaken for one. Its general color is fulvous, 
grizzled with black and white hairs and lighter 
underneath a color remarkable for its ability 
to blend with the brown and grey, that the arid 
Plains are clothed in the greater part of the 
year. 

Although well proportioned and being where 
food is usually plentiful, it rarel}^ fattens up, and 
almost invariably presents a hungry, half fed 
appearance. Its food consists mainl}^ of small 
rodents and birds, such as it can dig up from 
the ground, or waylay by cat-like maneuvers. 
Preferring to live on a diet of such animals as 
it is enabled to capture and kill, it resorts to 
many schemes and tricks to satisfy its desire for 
fresh meat. Field mice and gophers living in 
shallow burrows, fall an easy prey to its dig- 
gings. Prairie dogs and cotton tails are way- 
laid at their place of refuge, and grouse and 



WITH THE COYOTES. 235 

small birds are pounced upon when they venture 
too near its place of ambush. 

Not always, howiever, is the coyote enabled 
to capture its game by such easy means, and 
when it chooses to dine on jack rabbit, it finds 
it requires all the power of perseverance and 
endurance it is capable of mustering up to over- 
take that fleet creature. As it happens, it is 
often obliged after a long chase to give up its 
quarry for a humbler meal. Probably it then 
decides it is not worth while to hunt the jack 
alone today, for it knows that if it can persuade 
one of its comrades to join the chase, Mr. Jack 
is doomed. When hunting in pairs, they give 
chase in turns, each stopping to rest in turn, 
thereby having a double cinch on the poor jack 
rabbit which is compelled to run continually 
until exhausted. 

In the winter when birds are scarce and the 
small mammals have hibernated or are huddled 
away under the snow and frozen ground, the 
coyote is often sorel}^ pressed for food, and he 
is then forced to content himself with gnawing 
off an existence from the frozen carcass of a 
horse or cow that has died probably months be- 
fore. His ingenuity of last summer is replaced 
by a stubborn perseverance, which keeps him 
traveling day and night in search of scraps 
of food. 



236 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

In the spring after the young are born, the 
bitch is kept busy from morn till night trying to 
satisfy the hunger of her growling litter of pups, 
and in her frantic efforts to do so, scruples little 
on running down and killing a stray sheep or an 
unprotected calf or colt. When, however, this 
large prey fails and the smaller game proves 
insufficient, she is again forced to the humbler 
larder of some carcass she has discovered on 
one of her many haunts. 

Coyotes are not adepts at burrowing, yet, 
some credit must be accorded them for work in 
this line. They often follow up mice and gophers 
for several feet under the sod, though it remains 
for the female to exhibit the powers of bur- 
rowing possessed by her tribe. In late winter in 
the southern part of her range, and in the early 
spring in the northern part, she selects a safe 
location, usually under a boulder or a ledge of 
rock, or on tlie face of a rounded point in a 
coulee or gulch, from where she may keep a 
shai^p lookout, and sets to work to dig a home 
for her prospective family. Large quantities of 
dirt are deposited at the mouth of the burrow, 
yet this amount is remarkably small when com- 
pared with the tunnel from which it is removed, 
which is often tAvent^^ feet or more in length and 
wide enough to admit a boy, or even in some 
cases a medium sized man. 



WITH THE COYOTES. 



237 



At the end of the burrow, which is usually 
elevated, is an enlargement, in which a litter of 
from three to eii>ht are brought forth. These are 
blind and helpless, yet after the first day of their 
earthly career it seems to become necessary that 
they exercise both their lungs and limbs, and 
except for the time that is spent in actual sleep, 
they keep up a persistent scrambling, one over 
another, and at the same time a constant growl- 
ing and whining. The cries of the young and the 
shuffling about of awkward feet can often be 
distinctlv heard at the mouth of the burrow. 
Tliis is one of the tests the ^'wolfer'' relies on 
when he has made the find of a burrow with 
fresh signs. 

As soon as the little ones' eyes are open and 
their legs grow stronger, they begin to travel, 
first upland down the burrow, a little further 
each time, until the mouth is reached. Later 
on, during the Avarm sunny days they may be 
seen plaving on the hillside near their home like 
so manv kittens. Before they are half grown 
the fond mother leads her family out for its 
initial trip, usually to the nearest watering 
place, to which they subsequently make regular 

trips. 

It is a pleasing sight to see the young coy- 
otes in plavful antics jump up the mother's 
side and play with her tail as they follow her or 



238 



WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 



chase each other around the bushes. As soon as 
the young are old enough they are taken out and 
taught the rules and regulations of the hunt, and 
long before they are full grown they take an 
active part in the chase. 

In late summer the young leave the maternal 
home in exchange for an independent life, and 




Caught at Last. 



it may truly be said that the coyote's childhood 
day's are over, and it must face the stern realities 
of life with all its serious consequences. It now 
prefers to live the life of a hermit, with an occa- 
sional short interview with its neighbors. 

Contrary to the habits of its cousin and 
neighbor, the wolf, the coyote is not often seen 
except singly or in pairs, though it is probable 



WITH THE COYOTES. 239 

that they are more in the habit of congregating 
during the night, when the eyes of the hunter 
and his dogs are closed in sleep, and they are 
at liberty to roam at will. Their stealthy man- 
euvers are not apt to disclose their presence, 
and one usuall}^ is not aware of the fact that 
coyotes are near until he is suddenly reminded 
of it by one of those unearthly screeching, yelp- 
ing utterances given vent to by the coyote dur- 
ing the long still night. Immediately the call is 
taken up by some prowler in a different direc- 
tion, and in turn is repeated by others further 
away, until the air fairly resounds with that 
weird cry. Whether uttered in pleasure or in 
pain, it is one of nature's most unpleasant calls, 
and embodies all the hopelessness and depair 
so apparent on the wide plains of the west. 

It is hard to describe the cry of the coyote, 
though a fair idea may be had by iniiiagining a 
series of sharp, harsh yelps, terminating into a 
long drawn painfully entreating howl. Often 
repeated and echoed by several further away, 
half a dozen are able to produce enough noise 
to lead a stranger to believe that he is in the 
midst of a hundred blood thirsty demons who 
are proclaiming vengeance on any one that might 
lack of proper protection. 

The coyote is detrimental to biit a small de- 
gree except to the sheep industry. It is true that 



240 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

coTotes, when bard pressed by hunger, have been 
known to rob the ranches of its poultry or even 
to kill a calf or colt, but it is on the defenseless 
sheep and lambs that they commit their great- 
est ravages. 

In some of the western states, where stock 
raising is an important industry, large bounties 
have been paid at different times for the de- 
struction of the coyotes, and these bounties, to- 
gether with those offered by stock associations 
and private parties, have induced a number of 
men and sometimes women, too, to make a busi- 
ness of the extermination of the coyote. Where 
formerly little time or trouble was spared to 
destroy these pests, now everybody who has an 
opportunity eagerly sets traps or poisonous 
baits for them, slioots at them at long range, 
runs them down with his broncho to ensnare 
them in the fatal noose of his lariat, or digs 
them and their families out of the depths of their 
underground retreat. The result is obvious. But 
few localities remain where coyotes hold their 
ovm in their original numbers. 

The coyote is a wary animal and hard to ap- 
proach within reasonable pistol shot range, and 
then only an experienced eye can draw a bead 
through the gun sights on its dull coat against 
the usual background of brown or grey. They 
are fleet foot creatures, and anything short of 



WITH THE COYOTES. 241 

a greyhound, they are apt to leave behind strug- 
gling in the dust. Grey hounds and fox hounds 
are sometimes employed to run them, down, and 
if one is caught out on the open plain by a 
pack of these hounds it is quickly dispatched. 
Frightened almost out of his wits, it repeatedly 
takes a quick glance back over its shoulder at the 
furious mob pursuing it, only to find that they 
are each time a little nearer, until it feels the 
sharp clasp of the jaws of the leader in deathly 
embrace. AVhat sport this would be to some of 
our noblemen across the sea. 

Like the red fox, the co^'Ote will sometimes 
form the friendship of the farmer's dog, and 
once arrived at a mutual understanding amicable 
relationship is not easily broken. 

As has been said, the coyote is swift afoot, 
but its wind is easily exhausted, and many a 
one has fallen a prey, through this lack, to the 
lariat of the hardy cowbody, who desires nothing 
more exciting for recreation than a rough and 
tuml)le chase through a prairie dog town iti 
pursuit of one of these nimble creatures. Im- 
agine the roughly clad westerner with hair and 
kerchief flying in the breeze, and the magic 
noose swinging round and round over his head, 
whooi)ing at the top of his voice and urging 
his steed on to its best. Imagine him shooting 
forth that magic noose and see it settle over the 

16* 



242 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

C03'0te's head. A jerk of the hand tightens 
the rope, and a turn in the horse's course takes 
the coyote off his feet and drags him along 
bouncing from mound to mound into insensi- 
bility. 

Coyotes cannot be said to possess a vicious 
nature. Armed with a short club, one may safely 
enter their burrows, and when trapped the same 
weapon will complete the work, as they are 
cowardly and rarely show fight. 

Though possessing considerable cunning, coy- 
otes are easier trapped than foxes, though they 
are slow at taking bait. Large numbers, how- 
ever, are annually poisoned by placing strych- 
nine in the carcasses of animals that have fall- 
en, through old age or otherrsdse, of which the 
pangs of hunger are apt to force coyotes to 
make a meal. The action of strychnine is ex- 
ceedingly fast, and it is no unusual occurrence 
to find a dead coyote a few feet from where it had 
been enjoying a dinner of poisoned meat. 

Of all methods resorted to, liowever, none is 
highly responsible for the reduction of the 
coyote as that of digging up the young ( and this 
often gives up the mother too) from the bur- 
rows. By one who is versed in coyote habits, 
the burrows are easily found, and the work of an 
hour or two with pick and shovel usually forces 
them to give up their treasures. 



WITH THE COYOTES. 243 

Not always, however, are the results so easily 
and quickly arrived at. The writer well remem- 
bers the first litter of pups he was fortunate 
enough to capture. After a three days' search 
among the deep coulees, along the upper Mis- 
souri, a den was located. But where? In the crev- 
ice of a ledge of sand rock. By placing my ear to 
the mouth of the burrow, I could hear the pups 
whining. The burrow was too small to admit 
me, and as it was too late in the day to commence 
operations, I plugged up the opening lest the 
bitch should proceed to transfer her young to 
some other place of refuge during the night. The 
greater part of the next day a friend and my- 
self spent in enlarging the burrow with sledge 
and crowbar, and it was not until late in the 
afternoon that I was able to crawl in far enough 
and with the aid of a short stick with some 
iLails drawn through the end, to rake out the six 
young, one by one. 




CHAPTER XXI. 

WOLF TRAPPING AN ART. 

Bu Captain Jack O'Cannell. 

\0B more than 40 years ''Old Hank'' 
Morrison has made his home in the 
lonely cabin on the shore of a 
small lake miles from any human 
habitation, in Alger County. I 
have often visited this strange old 
chap, and although the frosts of 70 winters has 
bent his giant form and silvered his hair, his 
heart is young. His past life I have never been 
able to fathom, but to judge from the choice 
books in several languages in his little cabin, 
I am led to believe there is a romance in the 
long, long ago. 

The writer slowly recovering from a stroke 
of paralysis, wishing to get outside the confines 
of civilization, decided to drop in on ''Old Hank'' 
recently. I made a trip despite the deep snow 
and the protest of my doctor. When I pounded 
on his door it was rather late at night. "Who in 

," and then pausing in astonishment, threw 

the door wide open and held out his hand. "Hello 
Jack," he fairly shouted, shaking my hand in 
real pump handle fashion, and with all the vigor 

244 



WOLF TRAPPING AN ART. 245 

of his mighty frame. "Blest if I ever expected 
to see you again ! Well ! well ! well !" He helped 
me put the horse away in good shape, and then 
got me a regular ''bang up" supper despite the 
late hour. 

Next morning after pancakes and coffee, the 
very first thing to attract my attention, when I 
stepped outside was two huge wolf pelts nailed 
to the side of the shack doing duty as the barn. 
I became interested at once owing to the unusual 
size and freshness of both. "Fifty dollars in 
one night is like finding money, eh," remarked 
tlie old man. 

I asked him how he managed to catch these 
cunning animals, knowing that others had met 
with poor success elsewhere. Says he, "I didn't 
learn the art of Avolf trapping by mail — I have 
been afflicted with the fad of wolf trapping for 
30 years, and in pursuit of them, I have learned 
a few things not obse'rved by other hunters. I 
may not know it all but I think I have the only 
successful trick of trapping these cunning an- 
imals and any man who will try my suggestions 
\^'ill meet with good success." 

Wolves are very suspicous animals, and have 
a keen scent for human beings. They will some- 
times make a wide detour around a place where 
I have blazed a tree for the purpose of marking 
a spot I want to again visit. They are very ob- 



246 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

serving and while the scent of a man's trail 
through the forest is fresh they will not come 
Avithin nmn}^ feet of his path. Hunters find in 
the school of bitter experience that it is no 
easy matter to catch them in traps. Old trap- 
pers Avill tell you that it is easier to catch the 
cutest fox tlmn it is to snare the dullest and most 
stupid wolf. I have followed the same method 
all my life — I learned the trick from a half breed 
trapper in the far Canadian Northwest. 

I select an open place in the woods or on the 
edge of the forest. It is necessary to have a 
knoll or mound near the center or edge of the 
clearing on which to place the trap, and in piain 
view of your bait which you propose to place 
there for the benefit of Mr. Wolf. A piece of 
venison or ham is about the best bait to use. I 
hang this on a sapling or tree and high enough 
from the ground so the wolf cannot get it by 
jumping. Make no mistake, mind a^ou, regarding 
the height from the ground. I put it at least 
eight feet, for I can tell you a wolf is no slouch 
when it comes to jumping, especially Avhen the 
reward is a good chunk of meat, and he happens 
to be hungry. 

"Why not plant a trap under the bait," I sug- 
gested, in an effort to appear wise. "Not on your 
life,'' says he. "Mr. Wolf is always looking out 
for just such a joke." 




A Northern Wolf. 



34V 



248 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

Continuing, he says, ''I then cut a stalve about 
six feet long — one ^\ith a crotch at one end. I 
sharpen the other end for the purpose of driving 
it into the ground. The ring on the end of the 
chain Avhicli is fastened to the traj), I slip over 
the stake up to the crotch. I then drive the 
stake into the ground so that no part of it is 
exposed. I place the trap on the highest part of 
the knoll and tlien cover it with leaves. I never 
take the leaves in my bare hands. I use a piece 
of bark to carry the leaves in and always from 
some other place than in the immiediate vicinity 
of the trap, for, mind you, the vagabond is quick 
to detect if the leaves have been disturbed, and 
will also scent the presence of man if the leaves 
have been placed there with his hands. 

And remember, it is absolutely necessary that 
no part of trap, chain or stake be left exposed 
to view. You see, if you leave the top of the 
stake sticking out, showing where it was cut off, 
it is enough to make the vagabond of the woods 
suspicious that there is a ^'nigger in the fence" 
somewhere, and he Avill lose no time in getting 
into the next township — instead of attacking 
the bait. ' 

The bait and trap should be from 30 to 40 
feet ajjart — gauge the distance according to the 
la}^ of the ground Avhere the trap is set. When 
the wolf scents the bait, he Avill approach it 



WOLF TRAPPING AN ART. 249 

with great caution and endeavor to reach it by 
jumping. After several unsuccessful attempts 
to reach it, he will proceed to the highest ground 
in the immediate vicinity of the bait, where he 
will set himself upon his haunches and set up 
a great howl, calling every wolf within the hear- 
ing of his voice to the spot. 

Your trap, you see, is set upon the highest 
point of this mound or knoll, and a wolf is al- 
most certain to get into the concealed trap. 1 
sometimes set as many as eight traps on a mound 
in the vicinity of the bait, and I have caught 
from two to four wolves in a single night in this 
way. This was in cases, of course, where a 
pack arrived before the original finder of the 
bait was caught. You see if they had found him 
in a trap when they arrived on the scene, they 
would not come within yards of the place, but 
would cut out for tall timber at once, even if 
they did get a whiff of the bait on the sapling. 

Wolves are even more easily caught in the 
spring of the year than at any other time. This 
is, of course, after the close of the hunting sea- 
son. They are hunters themselves and prefer to 
chase and kill their own game and this accounts 
for the fact that they will seldom ever touch a 
deer carcass left in the woods by hunters. When 
the snow is deep they hunt deer by following 
their tracks for hours, even days, until they fi- 



250 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

nallv get their prey into a place where the animal 
can't run or defend itself. The feast is then on 
in short order. 

Wolves kill more deer in this country than 
t^YO legged hunters. If the state is going to do 
the right thing to protect the deei', just let them 
put a bounty of |50.00 on the wolves in every 
county in the Upper Peninsula. Then the woods 
will be full of men with rifles, and in a year or 
tAVO there wouldn't be a wolf in Northern Michi- 
gan. 

If the state did this instead of getting out a 
lot of swell books on the game laws, we would 
have the deer with us a few years yet But as 
it is now, the wolves alone will pick the bones 
of the last deer in this whole Northern Michigan 
in less than three A^ears from now. Mark you 
these words, the state now pays |25.00 for every 
pelt, but it don't seem to induce hunters and 
traiT[:>ers to make a business of wolf trapping. 
Even with plenty of wolves to catch, following 
the business for a living is one of extreme hard- 
ship, but if they put the bounty in the |50.00 
notch, then there wOuld be Something doing and 
the hardship would have no terrors to the men 
who took up the hunt in earnest." 

I spent a week with this interesting man. He 
has over 300 Newhouse traps of all sizes and 



WOLF TRAPPING AN ART. 251 

quite a pile of mink and skunk skins. He said he 
never trapped for musl^rats as he didn't consider 
them worth while. His forte being mink, otter, 
skunk, fox and wild cat, with wolves a side line 
— although it didn't appear as such to me. 

He was greatly interested in my 35 caliber 
Automatic Winchester rifle and when I fired it 
a few shots for himj, as quick as I could, his eyes 
stuck out like tea cups. "Say, Hank, you ought 
to get one.'' "Not if I know myself, them pop 
guns is all right for dudes and those fellows with 
that tired feelin'. Old Betsy is good enough for 
me." So saying, he took down "Betsy" for my 
inspection. It was a Sharpe's rifle and a good 
one, too. It shoots a 45-100 Sharpe's special with 
a 550 grain ball set trigger, open and peep sights, 
and weighs 12 pounds. And just to show me how 
she behaved, he blew a two quart jug off a stump 
at an estimated distance of 500 yards. "How 
many deer have you ever killed. Uncle?" I 
asked. "Well, I can't say, Jack, but give me a 
dead rest and I can plug a dollar every time at 
100 yards." "Well, for heaven's sake, how many 
have you shot at?"^ "Well, I can't tell. Jack, 
but I must have shot at more than 1,000 of 'em 
at not over 50 yards." 

As a pledge of my friendship, I gave him my 
Marble pocket axe and knife. It was with a 



252 WOLF AND COYOTE TRAPPING. 

heavy heart that I grasped his honest hand to say- 
good bye^perhaps for the last time on this 
earth. If so, I sincerely hope to meet him in the 
"Happy Hunting Grounds" to part no more. 




The above illustration shows the front cover of Hunt«r-Trade^^ 
Trapper, a monthly magazine, published by The A- R- H^r'ling pud^^^^ 
lig Co.^ Columbus. Ohio, who are also P^bhshers of books «" IJ^PP'g"^ 
and Out-o Door Sports, bringing out "^w ones continual^' Jh^'f fj^\^^ 
booklet descriptive of their magazine and books pubUshed win oe bei 
upon application. See following pages. 



Hunter 
Trader 



Trapper 



0s its Name Indicates is a Magazine of Information 
for Hunters, Traders, Trappers and Out-o-Door 
People. 

If you are interested in hunting, trapping, 
raw furs, ginseng, raising wild animals, taxidermy, etc., 
you will find this magazine of interest and value. The 
magazine is published monthly and treats on the fol- 
lowing subjects: Steel Traps, Where and How to Set; 
Baits and Scents; Proper Season to Trap; How to 
Skin, Stretch and Handle Furs; New Ways to Capture 
Mink, Fox, Wolf, Marten, Beaver, Otter and Other 
Shy Animals; Raising Fur Bearing Animals; Growing 
Ginseng and Golden Seal; Training Night Hunting 
Dogs; Leading Fur Markets; London Raw Fur Sales; 
Fox Hunting and Hounds ; Coon Hunting ; Letters 
From Old Hunters and Trappers, etc. 

The Editor is a man of long experience in handling 
raw furs and trapping. The articles published and photos 
used are largely from those who have had actual exper- 
ience with trap, gun and dog— you will enjoy them. 

The magazine contains from 128 to 200 pages each 
month, averaging about 160 each month or 2000 pages 
a year. About 700 illustrations are used each year. 
The magazine is printed on good quality paper and the 
subscription price is only 



^i«\/U ci ic estr ten cents 

A. R. Harding Publishing Co., Columbus, O. 



Land Cruising 
and Prospecting 



D 



S a valuable book for homesteatsers, hunters, trap- 
pers, guides, etc. The writer— Mr. A. F. Wallace, 
an experienced surveyor, land cruiser and pros- 
pector—in his introduction says: "To the men 
who follow the compass, the trap and the trail this 
work is inscribed. It is not intended for the "Profes- 
sors" who can tell you all about things after they are 
done (by somebody else)." 

The publishers say : A book of Valuable Information 
for hunters, trappers, land cruisers, prospectors and men 
of the trail— tells how to locate one's self on the map, etc. 
This book contains about 200 pages 5x7 inches, is 
printed on good quality paper, with nearly 40 illustra- 
tions and contains 20 chapters as follows : 

Poor Man's Ore MiU. 

Prospecting for Fur. 

Prospecting for Pearls, 

Prospecting for Bees. 

Rations and Camp 
Cookery. 

Camp Kits. 

Guns, Axes and Pack- 
straps. 

Building Cabins, Tan- 
ning, Etc. 

Getting Lost, 

The Red River Trapper. 

This book is practical and may be worth many times 
the price to you. Remember it is written by one who 
has had many, many years of experience. 



Price, Cloth Bound, Postpaid, 60 Cents 
A. R. Harding Publishing Co. : : : Columbus. Ohio 



I. 


Maps. 


XI. 


II. 


The Compass. 


XII. 


III. 


Examining and Locat- 


XIII. 




ing. 


XIV. 


IV. 


Early Surveys. 


XV. 


V. 


Corner Marks. 




VI. 


Miscellaneous Inform- 


XVI. 




ation. 


XVII. 


VII. 


Points for Homestead- 






ers. 


XVIII. 


^III. 


Prospecting for Gold. 




IX. 


Sampling Ore. 


XIX. 


X. 


How to Locate a Claim. 


XX. 



HUNTING DOGS. 

Describes in a Practical Manner the Training:, Handling, Treat' 

ment, Breeds, etc.. Best Adapted for Niglit Hunting:, 

as well as Gun Doffs for Daylight Sport. 

This book contains 253 pages, 5 
X 7 inches, 45 illustrations show- 
ing the various breeds, hunting 
scenes, etc. 

The author, Mr. Oliver Hart- 
ley, in his introduction says: "As 
if hunting for profit, night hunt- 
ing for either pleasure or gain 
and professional hunting gener- 
ally had no importance, writers 
of books have contented them- 
selves with dwelling on the study 
and presentation of matters relat- 
ing solely to the men who hunt 
for sport only. Even then the 
Fox Chase and Bird Hunting has 
been the burden of the greater 
per cent, of such books. 

Chapter Part One— Hunting Dogs. 




9. 



10. 



Training— For Squirrels 
and Rabbits 

Training the Deer 
Hound 

Training— Specific Things 
to Teach 

Training — Random Sug- 
gestions from Many 
Sources 



1. Night Hunting 

2. The Night Hunting Dog 

— His Ancestry 
S. Training the Hunting 
Dog 

4. Training the Coon Dog 

5. Training for Skunk, 

Opossum and Mink 

6. Wolf and Coyote Hunting 

Part If — Breeding and Care of Dogs. 
Chapter 14. Breeding (Continued) 

11. Selecting the Dog 15. Peculiarities of Dogs 

12. Care and Breeding and Practical Hints 

13. Breeding 16. Ailments of the Dog 

Part III — Dog Lore. 
Chapter 18. The Dog on the Trap 

17. Still Trailers vs. Ton- Line 

guers. Music 10. Sledge Dogs of the North 

Part IV — The Hunting Dog Family. 

20. American Fox Hound 24. Scotch Collies. House 

21. The Beagle Dachshund and Watch Dogs 



and Basset Hound 

22. Pointers and Setters- 

Spaniels 

23. Terriers — Airedales 



25. A Farmer Hunter — His 

Views 

26. Descriptive Tabl^ of 

Technical Terms 



The contents show the scope of this book and if you are 
at all interested in hunting dogs, you should have this 
work. The book is made up not only from the author's 
observation and experience, but that of scores of success- 
ful night as well as daylight hunters. This book will not 
interest the field trial dog men but is for the real dog men 
who delight in chases that are genuine. 
Price, cloth-bound, postpaid, 60c. ^ 

A. R. HARDING PUB. CO., Columbus, Ohio 



OCT 14190« 



ot\- 



TOCK^-^'" 



NOV 



6 »»«» 



VH. 






LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

llllllfinir 




